After a long wait, finally, Anurag Kashyap’s crime thriller Kennedy starring Rahul Bhat and Sunny Leone is going to release in India. For everyone who has been missing Kashyap’s direction, the dark themes, the political subtexts, the unconventional style of storytelling, this film might be the one that suits your taste. With some evident flaws, Kennedy is a slow-burn crime thriller which is not everyone’s cup of tea, and here’s a quick review of the much-awaited movie. Read on.
Plot
Set during the covid times, the story revolves around an ex-police officer Uday Shetty (Rahul Bhat), who is living under the alias Kennedy. During the day he works as a cab driver, but that is simply just a cover up because his actual job is to kill people on Police Commissioner Rasheed Khan’s orders. However, Uday has a disturbing past too, and the only purpose of his life is to find Saleem Kattawala (Aamir Dalvi) and take his revenge. Sunny Leone plays the role of Charlie who helps Shetty on his mission but she has her ulterior motives too. Uday’s multiple killings haunt him everyday and he is basically a dead man walking! What ultimately happens to him is something viewers must watch the film to discover.
Performances
Rahul Bhat as Uday Shetty is absolutely phenomenal. Shetty is a hollow man, who is filled with angst and spite for Saleem and over the years, he has also become a hollow human, even hallucinating dead people around him.. Rahul Bhatt understands the character’s psyche and embodies the flaws effortlessly. With each frame, the actor only gets convincing. Sunny Leone as the charming, heartbroken and broken woman Charlie has also played the part well.
Anurag Kashyap’s Charm
The director is known to create a world where audience can’t help but get lost. The first shot of the film with Uday peeling an apple while smoking a cigarette is quintessentially Kashyap, instantly pulling viewers into the character’s gritty universe.. Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy has many moments where the director deserves a lot of appreciation for the storytelling, whether it’s the sequence of a song at the bar, or some chasing sequences, the way Uday Shetty’s horrors are displayed (with absolutely no filters), makes the film unsetting at times. The moody color palette, the realistic portrayal of Mumbai, the shady bars creates and immersive and dark experience. The style is present!
Weak Story
Set in pandemic, Anurag Kashyap’s crime thriller has a weak storyline or rather the plot is not stitched well to create the desired impact. It’s only Uday Shetty’s story that got me invested, but it’s more to do with the performance than the writing. The other characters in the film like the Commissioner, Sunny Leone’s Charlie and the antagonist Saleem is undercooked. In fact Charlies presence in the narrative feels unnecessary at times. The layers of a flawed system that the film attempts to deal is not presented very effectively. It’s safe to say that the film lacks substance on many levels.
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Verdict
Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy lets us dive into the world of Uday Shetty because of the stylistic details that have taken care of by the director, and of course, Rahul Bhat’s strong performance. But the film is not very effective in terms of story and characters. Kennedy is currently streaming on Zee5.
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