One shall watch Kennedy if one considers themselves to be an Anurag Kashyap fan. It’s a feast for the eyes, cherishing each detail a frame holds, inviting you to savour the intricate details woven into the cinematography. The film’s artistry lies not just in its visuals but in the way every shot beholds the protagonist’s journey, transforming the atmosphere into a living, breathing canvas. The story of Kennedy tells the story of an insomniac by the same name, navigating the shadows of a corrupt system.
Uday Shetty (Rahul Bhatt), now Kennedy, is intimidating as he performs cold assassinations, extortions, and all other dirty work for Mumbai Police Commissioner Rasheed Khan. His motive remains personal. He does it in exchange for information from a gangster who is responsible for wiping out his normal, jovial family life. So, when we see Kennedy, we see the hollowness he carries, unflinching stares that speak no emotion, dead eyes, and unreadability. He kills his hunts without making them even realise—it’s abrupt and sudden—and eventually leaves you shocked too.
The spectacular metaphorical voice-overs give you a reality check on what goes and comes around the society. For indeed, in the hush of dusk, darkness gets its voice, the actual clarity. Kennedy in the day remains masked—as a cab driver, he carries out his assassinations in the night. A scene that should ignite you—is the ‘mehboob mara gaya’ moment—it makes your brain almost hyper-fixated, and lyrics continue to echo as an aftermath.
Kennedy gets his emotional release moment not through the assassinations, however, but through his connection with Charlie (Sunny Leone). She speaks of resilience, the treacherous currents of the city’s power struggles. She is a mystic presence, cocooning secrets beneath her composed exterior. As a character, Charlie becomes the conduit between Kennedy’s fractured psyche and the long-buried guilt that has haunted and tormented him, blurring the lines between reality and hallucination.
Currently streaming on ZEE5, Kennedy is directed by Anurag Kashyap and is produced by Ranjan Singh and Kabir Ahuja.
IWMBuzz rates it 4/5 stars.
