Kennedy Review: Rahul Bhat, Sunny Leone, Anurag Kashyap's Kennedy Takes Us Inside The World Of A Doomed Hitman

Title: Kennedy

Director: Anurag Kashyap

Cast: Rahul Bhat, Sunny Leone

Where: Zee5

Rating: 3 Stars

Kennedy revolves around Uday Shetty (Rahul Bhat), a former police officer turned hitman. The 'system' takes him on as a contract killer in post-lockdown Mumbai. Shetty, while grappling with his inner demons, comes across Charlie, played by Sunny Leone, who portrays a mysterious and vulnerable character.

Aamir Dalvi plays Saleem Kattawala, Megha Burman plays Anuradha, Mohit Takalkar plays Commissioner Rasheed Khan, and Abhilash Thapliyal plays Chandan. The cinematography is by Sylvester Fonseca, who lends his expertise to this neo-noir film. 

The film would have been more palatable had it been cut down by at least 20 minutes, which does test one's patience. But is it purposely made slow so that certain scenes like the one I describe below have a more hard-hitting effect? That is something which I would look forward to asking Anurag Kashyap during a one-on-one interaction.

The scene I'm talking about can easily be called one of the highlights of the movie, when Uday goes to bump off a target. It would be interesting to know whether the scene was based on a real incident. Entering the house, he touches the feet of a wheelchair bound individual, who points him to the location of the target, not knowing that he is a hitman. While smothering the target with a pillow, another family member spots the crime in progress, but seems pleased by what is happening. The scene hints at how honesty results in the break down of familial ties, and ofcourse, becoming a target.

The movie has one particular theme in common with the cult Brad Pitt-Edward Norton starrer Fight Club (1999), but revealing that could act as a partial spoiler. Kennedy also has a workout regimen which only someone like Anurag can recommend- 20 pull ups plus a sip of whiskey and a puff of a smoke.

Actors' Performances

Sunny Leone is seen in a role that she would have probably been happy to portray when presented with it, since it's a far shift from the kind of characters she has played before. She is hilariously deranged in her role.

Rahul Bhat is the gloomy ex-cop turned hitman, who dulls his senses with alcohol. Mohit Takalkar makes an impression as the corrupt commissioner, while the most impactful acting goes certainly to Abhilash Thapliyal, while Megha is apt as the wife who considers her husband as good as dead.

FPJ Verdict

Kennedy can be slow at times, and during others can give you some great scenes that reflect our world. Give it a try if you're a Kashyap fan and tell us what you think.