Imtiaz Ali regrets his decision to act in Anurag Kashyap’s Black Friday, calls it a ‘mistake’.
Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali is best known for films like Jab We Met, Tamasha, Rockstar, and more. The filmmaker had a significant but not widely recognized role in Anurag Kashyap’s Black Friday and now in a recent interview, he called it a ‘mistake’.
In a recent conversation with Lallantop, Imtiaz Ali revealed that he regrets his decision to act in Anurag Kashyap’s Black Friday and said, “When we are young, we all make mistakes. One of my mistakes was taking his advice. We spent a lot of time together and even lived in the same building. We were deeply involved in each other’s work. I don’t know why he suggested that I should play the role of Yakub Memon in Black Friday.”
He added, “I think it was his stubbornness, vo merko zaleel karna chahta hoga (he wanted to embarrass me). He said to me, ‘Mein apke liye jaan de sakta hu, aap mere liye role nahi kar sakte (I can give my life for you, but you can’t play a role for me). He said this with a lot of emotion, probably because he was a struggling actor at the time (laughs). At that time also he was acting.”
The filmmaker also added that Anurag Kashyap asked him to keep his hair long as he wanted to shoot additional scenes for the movie and then he decided to maintain his long hair. The filmmaker said, “This is why I have long hair now.”
He also reflected on how Anurag Kashyap wanted to be an actor and said, “Anurag banana actor chahta tha. The first time I saw a portfolio was when Anurag showed me his own. At that time, I didn’t know I’d become a director and see many portfolios in the future, but Anurag’s was the first. In it, he had photos showcasing his muscles. He approached me when I was part of the production team for a TV show that would be shot at Delhi University. Anurag, who was at Hansraj College while I was at Hindu College, came to find me in my hostel and presented his portfolio. I was impressed by his dedication as he had many photos taken from various angles.”
Helmed by Anurag Kashyap, Black Friday was his second film as director after Paanch. The movie is based on the book Black Friday: The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts by Hussain Zaidi, which recounts the 1993 Bombay bombings.
Meanwhile, Imtiaz Ali is currently awaiting the release of his next film Chamkila starring Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra. The film is based on the life and death of popular singer Amar Singh Chamkila, who had enraptured Punjab with his music. The film is scheduled to release in 2024.
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