From the enfant terrible ofIndian cinema,Anurag Kashyap, comes the wicked-looking new film noir,Kennedy. Ahead of its premiere at this year’sCannes Film Festival,Kennedygot a first teaser on Thursday.Rahul Bhatstars as the titular character, “an insomniac ex-cop, long thought to be dead,” who still operates at night, “looking for redemption.”
The teaser opens withominous shotsof Kennedy skulking in the darkness, along hallways and narrow staircases, as he asks someone in a voiceover in Hindi, “Tell me, how many people have you killed? Did you have fun?” As classical music crescendos in the background, Kennedy stabs someone in the stomach. He has a long mane of unkempt hair, and a shaggy beard. Thekiller coplooks like he’s in a trance as he twists the knife deeper into his victim’s body.
Next, we see him hurl another man off a balcony, as Kashyap gets a prominent credit. “From the director ofGangs of Wasseypur,Ugly, andPsycho Raman,” reads the bold yellow text on screen, highlighting the most acclaimed films of his illustrious career. After a few more glimpses of Kennedy killing people — he also uses guns, by the way — we get a taste of thedark comedythat Kashyap’s films are known for. “Who are you?” a man asks nervously (and repeatedly), as the title pops up. The teaser ends with aglamorous-looking woman(Sunny Leone) joining a masked Kennedy in an elevator. She takes one quick look at him, turns around, and lets out a squeal of delight.
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Bhat previously worked with Kashyap on the modern noirUgly, which premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival, as did Kashyap’s most acclaimed film, the two-part gangster epicGangs of Wasseypur.Kennedywill be screenedOut of Competitionat this year’s edition of Cannes. The filmmaker, whose workhas influencedDanny Boyle, is also known for the big-budget gangster noirBombay Velvet, the docudramaBlack Friday, the satireChoked, and for co-directing India’s first Netflix original series, the crime dramaSacred Games, whose second season was nominated for an International Emmy. His most recent film was this year’s romantic dramaAlmost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat.
Kashyap Was Triggered to Write the Film After a Real-Life Incident
Kennedywas written during the lockdown, and was shot over 30 nights, “on the streets of Mumbai.” The background music was recorded in Prague by the Prague Philharmonic Choir. Kashyap said in the film’spress notesthat he has “lived with the character for a long time.” In his own words:
“I was writing for Sudhir Mishra, and he used to tell me stories of this mad police officer. Then, years later during the lockdown, an incident happened in Mumbai that triggered an idea. I took the cop from Sudhir Mishra’s stories and put him in that incident, and Kennedy was born. It’s one of those stories that comes to you, and you write relentlessly till it’s fully formed. Then, I was lucky to find people who believed in it as much as I did, and it just happened.”
Kennedyalso starsMohit Takalkar,Abhilash ThapliyalandMegha Burman. The film will premiere at Cannes on May 24. You can watch the teaser here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
