CINEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF THE MUMBAI MAFIOSI IN ‘BLACK FRIDAY’ - A SIMULATION OF REALITY

Abstract

The organised crime syndicate of the commercial capital of India, Mumbai, is renowned for its notoriety and blasphemy. The den of the most heinous dons, Mumbai, has suffered a lot in terms of loss of lives and property. Extortion, prostitution, human smuggling, and human trafficking are some of the menaces that Mumbai faces even today. The 1993 bomb blasts is one such incident which shuddered the faith of human beings in the almighty. The loss of several innocent lives, public and private property cannot be recovered ever. The relatives of the dead victims still feel the chill down their spine, when they revisit those fearsome lanes of memories. This event was so massive in its form that the entire world was shaken. In the year 2002, veteran journalist and author, S. Hussain Zaidi penned down the events of this mammoth attack in his book, Black Friday. His detailed research on the entire episode along with the police encounters and arrests, is laudable. This was later adapted by filmmaker, Anurag Kashyap in his movie, of the same name, where he depicted the series of events through the lens of his imagination. This research is an attempt to study the film with relation to the original work of Zaidi. The different camera shots, angles, make-up, dialogues and narration techniques used to create a simulacrum or hyperreality will be the focus of the research. The researcher will also explore the aestheticism of realistic cinema. The paper is based on the theoretical framework of Jean Baudrillard’s ‘Simulacra and Simulation’, auteur theory and realistic cinema of Andre Bazin and Andrew Sarris.