Aditya Srivastava on 15 years of Black Friday: The delay in release of the film hampered its prospects

As Anurag Kashyap’s Black Friday clocks 15 years, actor Aditya Srivastava recalls how tough a period it was for them when the film was facing release problems.

The film premiered at the 2004 Locarno International Film Festival and was supposed to be released the same year in India. However, after a petition filed by a group accused of the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts challenging the film’s release, the Bombay High Court issued a stay. It finally hit cinemas on February 9, 2007.

“It was very annoying. There was so much hard work that we had put in and the way the film was shaping. We were very excited about that and the mileage that it would have got with an immediate release would have been great. But that didn’t happen. It is sad that hume uss waqt se guzarna pada. Had it released, the film would have benefitted more but the delay hampered it,” says Srivastava.

Calling it a milestone film for him in his career, the actor, who played the role of Badshah Khan, says, “Career wise it was a very important film for me. I am very lucky to be associated with this film. At that time I remember that when the film was planned, I wasn’t meant for the role of Badshah Khan, I think Kay Kay (Menon) or Naseer bhai (Naseeruddin Shah) was supposed to do. Somehow it came to me and it was a very fruitful journey for me.”

The subject of the film was inspired by real life incident and was a rather sensitive story. But the actor says he had no apprehensions as he had complete faith in director Anurag Kashyap with whom he had worked earlier in Paanch (2003) and Satya (1998) on which the filmmaker worked a an assistant director.

“I had a belief on Anurag Kashyap that he would pull it off. His talent no one can deny. As an actor you look for good script and good roles and that is how it was for me. The ensemble was so interesting. It was a dream role for me,” he ends.