BLACK FRIDAY-How it all began PART-2
We still didn’t have the script..
Things had not worked out with Ramu..Jhamu Sugandh by now had come on board..Mid-day also realised that they would have to put in most of the money..Tariq was game..but it being a listed company, the forming of a film company had to be passed by the board..Mid-day Multimedia ltd was already in existence making news stuff for TV..Board passed the proposal..we were on but we didn’t have a script..
Script
All this AM thought that i was working on the script..he would ask me “kitna hua” and i would say “ho raha hai”..i had figured out by then what would go into the script and what is to be left out..but i could not find a structure hence no script..then one day we were sitting at China Gate in bandra..AM,CM and me..and AM said:-
“Is it possible to structure the film in a way where it ends at Babri Masjid”
I immediately responded,”why not”
Why not..why fucking not..that was probably the only way it could all come together..i was excited..Then AM dropped a bomb , can we have the script by the weekend..meekly i said..”Yeah”..then he went ahead and booked the conference room at Land’s end..he called Sudhir Mishra and someone else was also to come for the first narration..I panicked..I called Dev..
“Dev, i have to deliver the script in next two days, i need your help..get the typist,i want you and neel to be with me for next 48 hrs”..we went back..i collected all the research material, handed it to Dev and asked him to start making a timeline..i had read the book so many times that i remembered everything..i also had individual episodes figured out..i roughly discussed the structure with Dev and neel and i told them i am going to start writing, by the time i finish one episode ,the next episode timeline should be up on my wall..I started writing..i had worked up a state of mind..i kept writing..neel would take my finished pages and give it to the typist..then he would take the timeline from dev and bunch together all the material on the basis of it and put it next to me..it was chaos..two rooms and the hall of my house was strewn with papers..we kept at it, not eating, not sleeping, phones off.. i never wrote so furiously..ideas were flowing..information was all there..I wrote some 120 pages at a stretch..we finished writing the film in 36 hours..we finished typing it in next ten..i have never felt prouder of myself..i till date don’t know what drove me that day..i don’t want to analyse it..and i have always been scared to say it in public forums or press conferences that i wrote the film in 36 hrs..I wish i can do that again..I do write fast..and Black Friday isn’t the fastest script i have ever written..it was the most difficult and the most technical, when i look back at it..it just happened..may be because there were eighteen preceding months that i lived with it, thought about it..the brilliant research work that my team did and i had read it all..it was beautiful..
The narration went very well..
Later on we did make some changes in it..some while shooting..like the chase which we improvised..some on editing table..a lot of it went out..a lot will go in to the TV series..some after editing..like the opening scene..
After we had a first cut, i showed the film to some people that i trust..N K Sharma..our Panditji of Act-one theatre group in delhi..Act-one was the breeding ground of actors like Manoj Bajpai,Ashish Vidyarthi, Gajraj Rao and most of the cast of Bandit Queen et al.. A group that NK started with Piyush Mishra..Piyush Wrote and composed music..NK directed..Now NK on seeing the film said..
“Film badhiya hai, bas sandwich missing hai”
I didn’t get it..no body did..then he explained..film begins on the day of the blast and ends at Babri but that doesn’t say much..come back to tha blasts..sandwich the film between the blasts..
and we did..
Next, Imtiaz ali, my dearest friend and another Act-one alumni, who also plays Yaqub Memon in the film said..
“Beginning thodi faili hui lag rahi hai”
Now we all were feelin that but nobody ever said it..i sat down with imti and brainstormed..that is when i said what if instead of showing gullu,running away then surrendering and cops asking question i do one long scene..and imti responded very well..like two excited children we started to work on it..i wrote ..he read it..he reacted..we locked it..we had a new opening sequence..AM loved it..shooting was over..we decided to shoot the new opening sequence in the office..Wasiq, aged the two walls ..we put Manoj goyal and the other actor and reshot the opening sequence..the way it is now..
Anyways after the script..we locked in the crew..
Tags: Black Friday
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
sudhir mishra saab ne kya kaha during the first narration……..aap detail account de sakte hain to pls do………
“I wrote some 120 pages at a stretch..we finished writing the film in 36 hours..”
Friggin fantastic …. I’ve always wondered how such writers can write sooooo fast ????? It seems so humanly impossible. ^:)^^:)^ ^:)^^:)^
Sorry to ask a potentially stupid Q, but in such scenarios, do u do a redraft or not ??? How sure u can be of the dialogues when u have to write them in 36 hours or 48 hours or so …. ?? Sorry chota moonh badi baat…
Pls write 120 pages about the making of black friday in the next 36 hours tooooo :-)
“Film badhiya hai, bas sandwich missing hai
yeh! even I would like to know Sudhirji’s comments on the narration.
General query: Did you ever discuss this film in the scripting stage with Mani Sir?
In the book Badshah was so excited coming up with ideas and place to blow Mumbai
Sudhir has always reacted positively to my scripts..i think he is biased towards me..he was suppose to play thapa with swanand kirkire as the asst customs officer which was eventually played by piyush mishra and subsequently cut from the film..that’s another story for the next post..am tired now..my back
Wow…Thanks AK for sharing this….
next week gods will say cheers!!!
wow…nice post. 36 hours ??? U mean, 36 hours ??? U mean, Chattis ghante ?? :o:o:o And how many pegs Anurag ?:-?
Waiting eagerly for ur next one…what all didnt work out. Also, if u can post one on the book n the film…whats there, whts new, what not there..taht would be great.
OZ, i hope u remember ur promise. Black Friday’s script on PFC. Keep on reminding Anurag.
Hey kaafir, loved ur comment!!!
Excellent.
I heard from a friend of mine that ‘Satya’ was written in 24 hours. I didn’t believe it then !
Could be true :-? :o :-?
sirjee, one thing i wanted to know is did the question arise that making such a film could be controvesial and could land the film into trouble??
Premal
kaafir, good one!
AK, KK, VB… just realized that we have some amazing material to make BF a mammoth 3-DVD fare, with fantastic extra features, interviews, behind the scenes, script, posters, etc.
Kudos Anurag! Just waiting for the best friday when blak friday would be screened. Your movie and concept compelled to pen some thoughts!
yeh dhuan kya hai
yeh awaaz kya hai
is badhawasi ka ilaaz kya hai
ghutno se phoot ke behtay khoon ko
haathon se rok toh lun, par haath kahan hai
cheekh raha hun magar koi sunay kaise
Sun nay waalon ko zindagi ka saath kahan hai
Badi mayoos nikli yeh friday
Ab mudassar ko yeh venkat kaise batay
Meri maa ka khayal rakhna
venkat, wow!!
Hi Anurag,
An excellent film, I had watched this film on a black market VCD in Dubai and I was totally blown with the look and the authenticity of the movie.
Now that the film is released, any insights on having a Director’s Cut Edition with all the deleted stuff pasted in it?
ANURAAG BHAI AISI SAHI BAATEN KAHAN CHUUPA KE RAKHI THI…HAR GENERATION KA KOI NA KOI INSPIRATION HOTA HAE…HUM 3 DOST AAPSE BAHUT INSPIRE HOTE HAIN….AA WAKAYE MAIN BADIYA INSAAN HAIN….