Reality hurts Indian filmmaker

By Jayshree Bajoria
BBC News, Mumbai

Black Friday deals with the Mumbai blasts that killed 300 people

Anurag Kashyap is easily India's most jinxed filmmaker.

His debut film Paanch (Five), a noirish tale about five rock musicians who end up killing while chasing fame, ran into problems with the censors and never got a public release.

Four years later, his keenly awaited film Black Friday about the Mumbai (Bombay) blasts in 1993 has been postponed following protests by those on trial for the bombings.

A total of 15 explosions rocked Mumbai on 12 March 1993 killing more than 250 and wounding 1,000 people.

Breaking away

Black Friday's release last month was stalled after the 36 people accused in connection with the blasts said the film should not be screened until the trial was over.

"I am appalled by the allegations. These people haven't even seen the film," says a despondent Kashyap at his busy Mumbai apartment, overflowing with books and films.

Critics like Rajeev Masand, who have seen his films, are dismayed by the development.

Bollywood showcases a weird fictional world where everything is good, happy and colourful and people are laughing and singing Anurag Kashyap

"All expression - good, bad or ugly - should be allowed in the arts. Let the audience pass the verdict," he says.

Kashyap is not your average Bollywood filmmaker, making mawkish boy-meets-girl song and dance extravaganzas.

With its cast of 270 characters, Black Friday has no songs, heroes, heroines or comedy - regulation fodder for most Bollywood films.

Paanch was dark and violent, provoking the censors to believe that it had no "social message" - again, an unwritten, but essential condition for a film to make the censors happy.

The film won critical acclaim on the festival circuit around the world, but failed to get a commercial release in India.

Rajeev Masand, who saw it four years ago, says: "It is an excellent film. It reflects urban angst and is unapologetically violent."

'We are mediocre'

Kashyap moved to Mumbai in 1993 and cut his teeth in Bollywood by co-writing the script of Satya, a stirring, much-acclaimed gangland film directed by Ramgopal Verma. He also penned another thriller Kaun (Who).

Now he says he does not relate to Bollywood at all.

"I think we are extremely mediocre. Bollywood showcases a weird fictional world where everything is good, happy and colourful and people are laughing and singing," he says.

Black Friday's cast of over 200 actors has no stars

"But that's not reality. There are many problems in this world. I see them and they bother me, so I make films on them."

Kashyap says the Bollywood star system smacks of feudalism and nepotism- children of stars often get preference over new actors.

Inspired by the work by Italian filmmaker Vittorio de Sica and the writings of Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky, Kashyap began his career as a theatre actor, but quit due to health problems.

He took to writing films, but turned director soon because he was not happy with the way many of his scripts turned out on film.

Leading Bollywood filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt says Kashyap's work is daringly unusual and real.

"The rejections will only intensify his drive. You cannot deter people like him who have energy, vitality and guts," he says.

For the moment, Kashyap is praying that Black Friday releases soon, so that he can move on to a few other planned films.