Introduction of A Character: ‘Dawood’ (Black Friday)

Nothing is glamorized in this scene from Black Friday where Anurag Kashyap introduces Dawood Ibrahim as Dawood Ibrahim. Yes! In an attempt to paint an accurate portrait of the 1993 Bombay blasts, the film uses real names rather than fictionalizing them. No characters are sensationalized, everything is shown from a perspective. In a scene where Dawood Phanse (Gajraj Rao) meets Dawood Ibrahim (Vijay Maurya), which has a bit of humour but a lot of tension which is created via camera. It is the time where the story is in the phase of unfolding, reaching towards the climax, and also introducing one of it’s important characters.

A scene from Black Friday

The first frame, a shot where we see Tiger Memon (Pawan Malhotra) initiates and is the mastermind of the whole plan and in the same shot through the glass door a reflection of Ibrahim’s character is portrayed and it’s the first time we as viewers are introduced to him. The sense of tension is already present as Gajraj Rao plays his part through his dialogue. The middle frame, a close up shot of the reflection, a mysterious character whom we all have just seen in clips or images and we try to relate through it, finding it an accurate portrayal of the gangster. The last frame is specially for Phanse’s expressions, he’s shocked and surprised as well. That’s how tension is created through perfectly executed shots making it the ‘most realistic portrayal of true events’ we have ever seen in Bollywood.

Leave a comment