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Join UsStar Cast: Anil Kapoor, Anurag Kashyap, Yogita Bihani
Director: Vikramaditya Motwane
What’s Good: Nothing is ‘regular’ about it and as a result everything comes with a surprise tag, listening to Anil Kapoor hurling abuses is the best thing happened to my ears since I’ve got that eardrum repaired
What’s Bad (for other films): It inaugurates a new format setting the bar so high that I don’t think anyone will even try to explore for a long time
Loo Break: It’s a little over 100 minutes keeping you on the edge of your seats & won’t let you hit that pause button
Watch or Not?: No matter what kind of audience you are, this has something for everything
User Rating:
It starts with a talk show with poorly-scripted questions but equally gut-busting answers by filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and actor Anil Kapoor. As they roast each other over who’s a bigger AK, Kashyap ends up splashing water on Kapoor’s face. This leads to Kashyap executing a plan of kidnapping Anil’s daughter Sonam, in exchange for humiliating him and forcing him to work in his arty film.
The plan is shooting Anil as he’s on this quest of finding Sonam and making a film of that. The rules Anurag states are: No Police, the camera will always be rolling and always takes the calls on speakers because “audience ko monologue samajta nahi hai.” Anil’s star in him doesn’t let him believe what Anurag is saying, but the actor in him overpowers that doing everything he can to save his daughter.
AK vs AK Movie Review: Script Analysis
Avinash Sampath’s script is batsh*t crazy from scene 1. I had my fair share of doubts about the concept of mixing real into the reel, but what the team has achieved here is nothing short than a cinematic miracle. Penning both the leading characters around the people they are in life – an idea that has the power to change Sampath’s life. Also, what are those dialogues? The fact of involving real people in the lines deserves more credit than penning lines around fictional characters.
The story skillfully weaves in the ‘camera’ as the third leading character of the film. Swapnil Sonawane’s cinematography (additional cinematography by Yogita Bihani) doesn’t boast drone shots, smooth panning or any grand camera trick. One thing it does and is excellent at it is – being authentic. It runs when the characters are running, gets down under a dining table when asked to be shut down, trembles when required proving to be the leads’ mute companion on this thrilling journey.
In a scene, the camera is under the dining table, and it still captures a shaken Anil Kapoor texting his son Harsh. It doesn’t sound as impressive when I write, but just notice this particular scene to see how brilliantly it’s executed. The authenticity level in the film is so fuc*ing high that the actress who is playing the camerawoman also runs, pants and cough while chasing the actors. The more I talk about the film’s dialogues and cinematography, the tougher it’ll get to choose what’s better.
AK vs AK Movie Review: Star Performance
Anil Kapoor effortlessly splurting out abusive dialogues is a visual to treasure. He’s acting the process of ‘not acting’, and that’s a significant reason of how he builds the anticipation of what is he doing to do next. He captivates you with his performance, constantly reminding of how ‘Jhakaas’ he is.
This is a tailor-made film for Anurag Kashyap. Try any permutation and combination with the script, and you can’t fit any director who could act out Anurag’s role in the movie. The fun he has while portraying the character of a ‘controversial director’ is unparalleled to anything he has ever done before. In a specific scene, he starts calling Anil Kapoor as ‘papa’, and that was the ‘it’ moment for me when it comes to film’s quirky dialogues.
Yogita Bihani is remarkable in her short & twisty cameo as the camerawoman. Boney Kapoor surprises with his cameo as it’s a rare sight to see him open up so freely at the comfort of his house (Though he’s at Anil’s place in the film but you get the gist). Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor respecting the film’s context goes over-the-board with his acting, bringing a different angle to the script.
AK vs AK Movie Review: Direction, Music
Quoting Francis Bacon to appreciate what Vikramaditya Motwane has done here: “If we are to achieve things never before accomplished, we must employ methods never before attempted.” That’s precisely what Motwane does with his direction. He breaks all the rules of contemporary direction and takes every wrong turn while doing everything right. A scene in which Yogita is asked to put the camera down still captures Anil from the mirror. Little instances like these fade in the many good things about the movie.
Alokananda keeps the background score minimal, creating the maximum impact on the scenes. The chase sequences get a touch of racy music which helps to build the scene. Two songs ‘Duniya Badi Gol’, ‘Ghum’ and both are situational in the quirkiest way possible. Depending on the ‘rap’ genre, none of the songs (including end credits’ track Khalaas) pretends to be cool, but they actually are pretty cool.
AK vs AK Movie Review: The Last Word
All said and done, this is will go down as one of the best experiments done with filmmaking in the history of World cinema. Also, it’s not just about its novel concept; it’s about the little things team has managed to pitch in to create this one heck of a film!
Four stars!
AK vs AK Trailer
AK vs AK releases on 24th December, 2020.
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