18 years of Black Friday: Pavan Malhotra on playing Tiger Memon, “Those who had met him said he was like this only”

February 11, 2025 - 1:57 PM IST

Recreating the events leading up to the ‘Bombay’ blasts (there was no Mumbai back then) on 12 March 1993, Anurag Kashyap’s clenched drama Black Friday on the second-worst terror attack in Mumbai is a source of constant shock. On each viewing, you will come across new facets to the dark diabolic characters plotting a conspiracy that still boggles the mind. The film completed 18 years on February 9.

18 years of Black Friday: Pavan Malhotra on playing Tiger Memon, “Those who had met him said he was like this only”

The extraordinary cast adds considerably to the palate of pulsating action. Watch out specially for Pawan Malhotra as Tiger Memon, K K Menon as inspector Rakesh Maria and Aditya Shrivastava as Badshah Khan. This film for once names and shames real-life terrorists.

Anurag Kashyap’s desperately dark exploration of the plan to blow up Mumbai had several exceptional performances, none more so than Pavan who played Tiger Memon with a reined-in ferocity that was at once menacing and chilling. Each time this multi-actor ensemble allowed him a voice, Pavan ripped the screen apart. Wonder why Kashyap never worked with Pavan again. Not much into groups and camps, Pavan has always chosen to walk alone, like a true tiger. He speaks on Black Friday.

How did Black Friday come to you?

Black Friday was Anurag Kashyap's first film which got released. He had shot Paanch before that, which could never see the light of the day. And he had started Gulaal, which somewhere stopped halfway. Back then, I didn't know about Anurag. He came and met me in Prithvi Theatre, and he told me about himself that he's been working with Ramu (Ram Gopal Varma) and he's written some scripts and he's working on a film. And he wanted me to watch Paanch, which I did. And then he saw my Brothers in Trouble. He had seen Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro and Bagh Bahadur. So that's how he had approached me.

What happened next?

And then he had sent me the script of Black Friday, which I went through, and my reaction was a very good script, but we shouldn't use the real names. But he said, no, no, we'll use the real names. And that's why when we say 18 years, actually it's 20 years, because two years it was in a court case. And in that, there were pirated DVDs in the market. But still, eventually when it got released, the response which we had, theatres were full in spite of people, a major number of people had seen it on DVD, which were pirated.

Your Tiger Memon was the film’s backbone

For me, it was a very, very interesting role to play. And it's a matter of chance that I never went into that area or met somebody who had met Tiger Memon. But yes, of course, Anurag told me to read the book, which my first reaction was, no, I'll stick to the script. But he said, no, no, you'll get a backstory, which really helped me to sketch that character.

You got the character bang-on

And after the film got released, I met a few people, those who had met Tiger Memon. They all said that, yes, he was like this only. So, I always said that I took flour from different places and made roti, and it turned out to be right.

How do you rate Black Friday?

I think it's one of Anurag Kashyap’s best films. And all the performances, even the little cameos really worked. And even now, people talk about that film after twenty years. And that's what I feel the cinema should be, that after 20, 30 years, if people can still remember films. Like I've been very lucky with films like Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro, Bagh Bahadur, Road to Sangam, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Brothers in Trouble…. Black Friday is one of the films people will always remember.

And where do you place Black Friday in your impressive repertoire?

I'm really proud to be part of a film like Black Friday, and I feel very good about it when people still talk about the film and my performance in that. And there were small, small things which I, like people always talk about a scene where I scream and shout when Tiger Memon’s office is burned. But that was the only time he screams his guts out, because it was an impotent anger. Otherwise, he was always in control. And it also tells people how people are used for their own agendas and violence.

But anyway, Black Friday was a very good journey. I really enjoyed shooting that film. Not that very high budget or something, but whatever the conditions, the team with the passion, everybody worked very, very hard on that film. And eventually, yes, it paid off. In fact, because of Black Friday, Anurag could complete Gulaal, because after the success of Black Friday, Anurag could make a place for himself as a director. Afterwards, what he did was a different story. But I think Black Friday is one of his best films.