Black Friday was guerrilla shooting

Black Friday was guerrilla shooting
By: Ami Cholia
January 22, 2005
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UNAFFECTED: Kay Kay Menon
Black Friday-the movie
The toll of the 1993 Mumbai blasts: 257 people killed or missing, 713 injured, Rs 27 crore lost. And at the centre of this aftermath, Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Maria, the man who helped crack the case.

Actor Kay Kay Menon plays the real-life cop-hero in Anurag Kashyap’s Black Friday, which opens in theatres this Friday. In a quick chat-up, Kay Kay recounts his experience of playing cop Maria.

Considering Rakesh Maria is still alive, did you spend a lot of time with him for the part?
None at all. I very consciously chose never to meet him. I didn’t want to get into any kind of caricature acting. Unless and until it is a historical role that has notional images for viewers, I would rather rely on the director, the script and my own instinct and imagination. Nobody has predisposed notions of Rakesh Maria. He is a private person.

Did you do any other research for the film?
I was a part of Bombay during the bomb blasts and nothing can be better research than that. S Hussain Zaidi’s book, on which the film is based, is in itself factual and wonderful. Anurag Kashyap had met Rakesh Maria and he gave me his inputs. My acting is intentionally very minimalistic.

Playing this part comes with huge responsibility. Were you overwhelmed?
Not at all. The film heralds the spirit of Mumbai. I was only too glad to be involved with this project.

A lot of the film was shot on actual locales. Was that difficult?
Shooting on actual location is like guerrilla shooting — it’s as hard as guerrilla warfare. We shot in very sensitive areas, but over a period of time, as actors, you develop skills for shooting in conditions like this. Your tentacles and antennas are always on. You can smell Bombay in this film.

Your other film with Anurag Kashyap, Paanch has taken three years to release. What has that taught you?
Initially I was affected, but now I am not. Like any other artist, initially I was anxious, but now I have learnt that you have to be indifferent to what you have done after you have finished it. Be passionate while you’re acting, but once it’s over, it’s not under your control.

What else can we expect from you?
I’m doing Khalid Mohammed’s Silsila, Kanika Varma’s Tansh, Chandan Arora’s Main Meri Patni Aur Woh and of course, Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar.

amic@mid-day.com