Kennedy
Cast: Rahul Bhat, Sunny Leone, Mohit Takalkar, Abhilash Thapliyal, Aamir Dalvi, Karishma Modi, Megha Burman
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Rating: ★★★.5
Over the years, many film buffs in India – dismayed by the apparent downfall in quality of Anurag Kashyap’s films – have chalked it out to the Gangs of Wasseypur curse. They theorise that the filmmaker is overwhelmed by what the cult film became, and has been chasing that high since, unsuccessfully. To me, the lapses that Kashyap made in the last decade were less to do with Wasseypur and more with Bombay Velvet. It was the filmmaker’s most ambitious film, and his biggest failure. I felt that Kashyap approached every new thing with a thought at the back of his mind – how different it all would be had Bombay Velvet worked. And I believe he wondered what it could have been. He answers the second question himself with Kennedy, a noir thriller that is as different from Bombay Velvet as two films can be, and yet, is similar in more ways than one can see. With a delayed release in India, the film also pushes forward Kashyap’s resurgence, at least in terms of filmmaking quality.
The premise
Kennedy is the story of the titular hitman (Rahul Bhat). Once a cop, now a chauffeur, Kennedy is presumed dead and works as a clean-up man for Mumbai’s corrupt police commissioner (Mohit Takalkar being a revelation). His aim is to find Saleem (Aamir Dalvi), an elusive gangster with ties to his past. But a chance encounter with Charlie (Sunny Leone) and his own destructive tendencies ensure he goes on a warpath with his own boss.
Return of noir
Kennedy is a noir thriller, and a dark one at that. Noir was a genre that Indian cinema adopted very early. Kismet and Mahal were pathbreaking hits in the 40s. Dev Anand and Guru Dutt then pioneered it in the next decade, but as colour permeated the silver screen in India, the genre lost out. While Hollywood has kept it alive (LA Confidential, Drive, and Blade Runner 2049), Bollywood has stayed away. Kennedy finally makes amends, and does it well.
This is a film that haunts the audience, just like it haunts the protagonist. A slow burn that keeps you engaged, Kennedy is as much about the anticipation as it is about the bang, to paraphrase the great Alfred Hitchcock. The film gets a lot right, from the cinematography to the dialogue, and even the subtle dark humour. The score may not quite be in the Dev D or Wasseypur zone, but is audacious enough to be different. I did have a slight issue with the pacing as things move more slowly than I’d have liked, but the narrative packs enough meta references to make that journey enjoyable.
The Kashyap signature
And in between all that are signature Kashyap gems – one-liners that sharply satirise this society, monologues that make you sit up, and simple pop culture references that make you chuckle. These are signs of a filmmaker having fun with his craft. And a fun Kashyap is something we have missed seeing on screen in a while.
The film is shouldered by Rahul Bhat, an actor who finally gets his due in the way he should have after Ugly, another Kashyap gem. As Kennedy/Uday, he channels a subtle self-loathing rage that is quite difficult to project on screen. Mohit Takalkar is the other star of the show as the corrupt Police Commissioner. He makes you despise him and love his performance quite effortlessly. Sunny Leone is fluid and enjoyable as the eccentric Charlie, holding her own against solid performers in some emotionally charged scenes.
Is Kennedy Anurag Kashyap’s return to his best? No, not quite! It is, however, a return for him to a phase when he seemed to be having the most fun with his craft. Think No Smoking and Dev D! Kennedy reminds you of the best Kashyap had promised after his early success, and reassures us that he has not lost his edge even one bit.
Kennedy is streaming in India on Hindi ZEE5.
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