EXCLUSIVE: Dibyendu Bhattacharya recalls Anurag Kashyap shooting Black Friday without permission

Dibyendu Bhattacharya revealed how Anurag Kashyap stealthily shot his scene at Mumbai's Mohammed Ali Road in Black Friday.

By Keyur Seta -

May 12, 2023 - 6:32 PM IST

Dibyendu Bhattacharya has gained popularity in recent years because of his performances in various web shows on different platforms. But he has been active in the Hindi entertainment space since over two decades and has worked in various known Hindi movies. Anurag Kashyap’s classic Black Friday is one such movie where Bhattacharya played the role of Yeda Yakub.

EXCLUSIVE: Dibyendu Bhattacharya recalls Anurag Kashyap shooting Black Friday without permission

In an exclusive chat with Bollywood Hungama, Bhattacharya went down memory lane recalling the shoot of the film. “It was an iconic film, shoot, direction and theme,” he said. “Black Friday was like a phenomenon. The way we shot the film and had fun, I would have experienced the same in hardly any other film. We all were newcomers from the young generation. If there was no junoon, Black Friday can’t be made.”

Black Friday was based on author S Hussain Zaidi’s book ‘Black Friday: The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts.’ The book traced the terrorist attack and how the people responsible for the act were booked under the leadership of the investigative officer Rakesh Maria, whose character was played by Kay Kay Menon.

The crew and actors had an interesting experience shooting the film without permission, for which Kashyap is known. “We shot at places where we didn’t have permission to shoot or there was problem in getting permission. We shot at places where if we take out the camera, lakhs of people would throng in front of it. So, we did guerrilla shoot,” said the actor.

Sharing an interesting example, Dibyendu said, “I had a scene at Mohammed Ali Road where I am buying Sevaiyan after Iftaari and an informer comes to me. Nobody knew where the camera was situated. We had fitted the camera on the bridge between two hoardings. They were sitting there since evening, and nobody realized. It would have created chaos if we had taken out the camera in the open over there. We did quite a few such shoots for Black Friday.”

Dibyendu played an important character in Black Friday but it was never decided when and where he would need to shoot. “Wherever Anurag used to find a good location, he used to call me and shoot,” he said. “Sometimes I had to go to Mahim, sometimes to Nala Sopara, sometimes some other location. Where I would shoot was never decided because mine was a flexible character. He wasn’t found in one location. I used to be on standby throughout the day.”

Apart from Black Friday, Bhattacharya has also worked with Kashyap on projects like Dev D, Chittagong and the web series Sacred Games. “He is a visionary,” said the actor while speaking about the filmmaker. “I think he is an institution. The kind of films he has made in his life, whether Black Friday or Dev D, I think only a visionary can make. I always enjoy working with him. It’s very easy because he understands acting very well, just like how he understands craft. He also knows what he wants out of an actor.”

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Dibyendu Bhattacharya on OTT censorship, “Art is a reflection of life, will they censor life?”