Critical Reception
The film has been appreciated by critics all over the world. Black Friday has an 86% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Matt Zoller Seitz of the New York Times described it as "epic and raw, and cut out from the same bloody cloth as Salvador and Munich. Kirk Honeycutt of Hollywood Reporter compares the film's "journalistic inquiry into cataclysmic social and political events" to that of Gillo Pontecorvo's classic The Battle of Algiers. He remarks that the film is without any lurid sensationalism and is objective.
David Chute of LA Weekly described it as "a rigorously naturalistic docudrama about a complex police investigation." Ethan Alter of Film Journal International describes it as a "potent reminder that Indian filmmaking isn't limited to Bollywood super-productions." According to Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide's Movie Guide, "its assertion that religious terrorism is about more than simply faith is food for thought." According to Ted Murphy of Murphy's Movie Reviews, "Kashyap keeps the action moving and the overall movie turns out to be engrossing."
Black Friday received overwhelmingly positive reviews from Indian critics. The film is widely considered to be director Anurag Kashyap's masterpiece.
Rajeev Masand gave it 4/5 stars and said "The actual blast scenes are shot in such a languid style, exactly the way a bystander would have experienced it. Believe me, no film yet has brought me so close to giving it a five out of five rating, but because it's just a little short of true greatness, I'm going to go with four of five for Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday. This is the kind of film to send to the Oscars."
Taran Adarsh gave it 4/5 stars and said "Some films leave you stunned and speechless with sheer power. BLACK FRIDAY, directed by Anurag Kashyap, is one such film. On the whole, BLACK FRIDAY is an outstanding piece of work. One of the finest products to come out of Mumbai, this one is a hard-hitting film that has the courage to say what it says. Do yourself a favor: Watch BLACK FRIDAY. Hindi cinema at its best."
Nihil Kumar from Apun ka choice said "Taking least possible cinematic liberty and retaining objectivity throughout the film, Anurag Kashyap tells a compelling and disturbing story in ‘Black Friday’. Strongly Recommended." Sanjay Ram from Business of cinema said "It simply states the point and that too in a very objective fashion." Khalid Mohamed from Hindustan Times said "The docu-drama structure is so skillfully employed that you’re gripped."
Nikhat Kazmi from The Times of India gave it 5/5 stars and said "It's powerful, pointed and hard-hitting cinema that needs to be seen. Not for entertainment, but for soch-vichar. And no, let's have no state, city, town, village, panchayat, self-appointed moral-political custodian acting as a super censor, this time please." Rediff said "There are moments in the second half when the filmmaker seems to lose the vice-like grip by which he holds viewers but that's excusable since the film has to stay within the framework of its reality theme."
Read more about this topic: Black Friday (2004 Film)
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