No Black Friday till blasts case verdict

The Bombay high court has stayed the release of the film, Black Friday, until the judgement in the 1993 bomb blasts case was delivered by the TADA court. Justice Hemant Gokhale gave this direction, while allowing a petition filed by a group of 1993 bomb blasts accused challenging the release of the film based on their case.

The judge restrained the producers from releasing the film or exhibiting it anywhere in the country until the TADA court delivers its judgement in the 1993 bomb blasts case.

Counsel for the producers Aspi Chenoy submitted that banning the film's release would amount to curbing freedom of expression, guaranteed by the Constitution.

"Curbing of freedom of expression can be done only in case of eminent and present danger. It can not be done on presumption of far-fetched arguments," Chenoy argued.

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Some of the bomb blasts accused had moved the high court stating that the release of the film before the trial court judgement could prejudice the case.

Counsel for the accused, P A Sebastian, read out excerpts from the script of the film which depicted the accused as 'terrorists and agents of ISI.' He said one of the accused, Mustafa Moosa Tarani, was shown in the film as planting bombs in scooters at Zaveri Bazar and at Worli in central Mumbai.

Meanwhile, director Anurag Kashyap is heartbroken at the news. "What do I say?" he asks. "I am too numb. At the same time, I'm angry. I don't know what to do. I'm just sitting in my room, starring at the ceiling. I will probably have to start my life from scratch again, write another film, find another producer and make another film."

He adds, "We will fight and the case will go on. But it will take me a while to come out of this. I am not sad, I'm confused. I made an honest film with a lot of integrity. Why me? I can't figure out."

Kashyap claims that he showed the film to the court twice.

He says, "I am writing stories for people. I don't know till when I will have to write. I want to make my own film. Obviously my dad cannot help me make another film so I have to find a producer to fund my film. But it's a very superstitious industry and everyone calls me a jinx. I have to fight that too. But sometimes, you feel tired of fighting all the time. I wish I could make films just like that, but I cannot."

Producer Arindam Mitra adds, "Whatever the law of this land lets us do, we will do to try and see that Black Friday releases at the earliest. We will appeal against the Mumbai judgement in the Supreme Court."

Inputs: Patcy N

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