A review on Indian/ Hindi language black comedy thriller film, AK vs AK (2020). It is directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and the Production House is Andolan Films. The film is distributed by Netflix.
+ Crew
- Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane
- Cinematography by Swapnil Sonawane
- Written by Anurag Kashyap (dialogues)
- Screenplay by Avinash Sampath and Vikramaditya Motwane
- Produced by Deepa De Motwane
+ Note
Ak vs Ak is a dark, comedic look into the culture and impact that Bollywood has on everyday life of India. AK vs AK is unique for its “film within a film” style of storytelling and everyone is playing as “themselves” makes everything seem authentic. The idea was initially pitched in 2013 with Shahid Kapoor playing the title role alongside Anurag and Vikramaditya Motwane attached to the project as its director. But delays and rewrites pushed the project further back to 2019. Finally, Motwane decided to cast Anil Kapoor for the role instead as he has been a bigger “commercial” star of Bollywood and fits the narrative of India’s obsession with its stars much better.
+ Main Cast
- Anil Kapoor as himself
- Anurag Kashyap as himself
- Yogita Bihani as herself
- Sonam Kapoor Ahuja as herself
- Harshvardhan Kapoor as himself
- Sucharita Tyagi as herself
- Boney Kapoor as himself
- Nawazuddin Siddiqui as himself (voice, cameo)
+ Plot
While attending the MAMI event, Bollywood icon Anil Kapoor and renegade director Anurag Kashyap get into a major public feud with one another as to who the bigger “star” of Bollywood is. This leads to Kashyap writing and directing his best film yet; kidnapping Anil Kapoor’s real life daughter (Sonam Kapoor) and forcing him to search for her within 10 hours time (till sunrise) while being filmed throughout this ordeal. No breaks, no cuts, no reshoots. Everything goes!
+ High Points
i – Its safe to say that the filmmakers had a lot of fun making the film and it shows! Every scene/ performance was taken up to 11. Nothing was off limits. All real life actors made fun of themselves and their dwindling careers. Is Anil Kapoor just a relic of the past? Is Kashyap just a talentless hack who only knows how to write obscene dialogue?
ii – Unsurprisingly, the snappy dialogue of the film is written by none other than Kashyap himself and its always fun to witness how he blends spoken dialogue with a sprinkle of ‘Bollywood masala’ mixed into it.
iii – The film (very successfully) takes shots at Bollywood and how deeply rooted it is to the lives of every person growing up in the slums of India. The Bollywood stars are not mere actors but dancing gods who cannot be separated from their onscreen personas.
iv – The dark humor is hilarious. There were numerous times I chuckled at the absurdity of the scene or just burst out laughing. The collaboration of Kashyap and Motwane always bring out the best in both of them.
v – The performances are great all across the board. Surprisingly, even as a non-professional actor, Kashyap kept up with Anil Kapoor pretty well throughout the film!
vi – The ‘Lakhan’ scene. ‘Nuff said!
vii – The city of Mumbai is as vibrant as ever and is undoubtedly a character on its own.
+ Low Points
i – Although the film was engaging for the most part, the last act of the movie felt a bit like a deadend with its creativity and the filmmakers really had to take a very “uninspiring” way to end the story. Predictable and lackluster end to what was a very fun ride.
ii – Such an ‘off the wall’ script could’ve been accompanied by experimental editing but unfortunately, that was not the case. The footage was sped up numerous times throughout the film (to save time I suppose) but it just felt tacky and amateurish.
iii – As you would expect from a Kashyap/ Motwane project, the film throws every idea they can concoct onto the wall to see what sticks. Some do, some don’t, namely the presentation of the film. Video game sprites and text don’t match up well to the dark, humorous tone that they were going for. It belongs more to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) rather than the gritty streets of Mumbai.
iv – The music is (for the most part) pretty forgettable. I thought Kashyap/ Motwane projects always had an excellent soundtrack to them (Dev.D (2009), Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016), Sacred Games (2018-19)). What happened?
+ Overall
AK vs AK is definitely a fun ride but the somewhat predictable/ disappointing ending will leave you a bit deflated at the end. But the duo of Anil Kapoor and Anurag Kashyap play off each other hilariously and for that alone, its definitely worth a watch!
Rate: 3.75 out of 5 stars
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