MUMBAI: Even as the TADA court is busy pronouncing its verdicts on the accused in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case, which also involves Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt; the Supreme Court on Friday has allowed the release of Black Friday directed by Anurag Kashyap. However, the film, which is based on the Mumbai blasts, can be released only after the court convicts or acquits the accused in the case.
Following a petition by one of the accused in the bomb blasts case – Mushtaq Moosa Tarani, the Bombay High Court had stayed the film from releasing as the verdict in the case wasn’t out. Tarani’s argument was that the release of the film would have an impact on the judgement of the case.
The stay on the film took place on 31 March, which was a day prior to the release of Black Friday. This in turn led to the market being flooded with pirated DVDs of the film, which were apparently taken out by staffers of a leading production house where work on the film was going on.
Black Friday, which was made at a cost of Rs 45 million, is based on a book by crime journalist S Hussain Zaidi. However, due to the delay in the release, the budget is expected to be up by over Rs 30 million inclusive of the debts incurred by co-producer Jhamu Sughand for the delay in release. The film has been co-produced by Mid-Day Multimedia Limited and Jhamu Sughand.
