Kill Movie Review: Explosive Movie Which Is for Hardcore Action Lover!
Cast: Lakshya, Raghav Juyal and Tanya Maniktala
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Where to Watch: In Theaters
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars)
It was promoted as the most violent film of Bollywood titled Kill, finally released in the theaters today. Hardcore fans of action movies like Korean action movies because they follow only one track and there is a lot of bloodshed in them. The American action thriller film series ‘John Wick’ also falls in this category. Following the same path, Nikhil Nagesh Bhat has made the film Kill which is full of bloodshed. Many scenes are so gruesome that it seems better to turn away your eyes. However, films and series full of violence are not new to Hindi cinema. The violence shown in the film Animal starring Ranbir Kapoor was criticized a lot. Kill proves to be better in that case. There is a fight between good and evil here, but one needs a strong heart to watch Kill. Filmmaker Karan Johar, who is trolled on social media for promoting nepotism, has given a chance to Lakshya Lalwani in this film. Lakshya has no connection with the film fraternity. After doing the serial Porus on TV, he turned to cinema.
This was in those days when newspapers could not reach villages and the only medium to spread information about films was radio. I still remember the radio advertisements that came before the release of Rajkumar Kohli’s film ‘Jaani Dushman’ (1979). These had a special warning that people with weak hearts and pregnant women should not watch this film. A similar statutory warning was also issued with the trailer of the film Kill. Before moving ahead, a small talk about Natya Shastra. If you have known and understood it, then you will know that Raudra, Veer, Bhayanak, and Vibhatsa Rasas have been given equal importance in it as Shringar, Hasya, Karun, and Shant Rasas. After counting these eight Rasas, the turn comes for the ninth Ras, i.e. Adbhut. The relationship between the play and the audience depends on which Rasas are present in which play in what quantity. The film Kill is filled with all four rasas i.e. Raudra, Veer, Bhayanak, and Vibhatsa, and the first four rasas are just sprinkled here and there. The ninth rasa of the film, which is made with a balanced use of all the eight rasas, is amazing. It is only for adults and is the best cinematic gift of this year for the audience who made the film ‘Animal’ a super hit.
Kill Movie Review: The Story Plot
The story is of a few hours in a moving train, but in that time so much violence takes place that it terrifies the heart. NSG commando Amrit (Lakshya) comes to know that his girlfriend Tulika (Tanya Maniktala) who lives in Ranchi is about to get engaged. After the engagement, Tulika has to go to Delhi. She calls Amrit to Delhi, but Amrit reaches Ranchi to elope with Tulika. His friend Viresh (Abhishek Chauhan) also comes to accompany him, but Tulika refuses. The next day, Tulika leaves for Delhi by train with her influential father Baldev Singh Thakur (Harsh Chhaya), sister Ahana (Adrija Sinha), and the rest of the family. Amrit and his friend are on another coach on the same train. At the next station, about four dozen criminals board the train with the intention of robbery. They shut down the mobile network with a jammer. Soon, blood and dead bodies of innocent people are seen everywhere on the train.
Amrit and Veeresh become a hindrance in their evil intentions. They Kill the dacoits, but not to death. Then something happens, Amrit Kills the dacoits so brutally that even his companions tremble. In one scene, the son of the leader of the dacoits, Phani (Raghav Juyal) asks Amrit, “Does anyone Kill like this?” You are not a protector but a predator who Killed forty members of our family. In the end, Amrit’s dream may not be fulfilled, but the promise made to Tulika is fulfilled.
Kill Movie Review and Analysis
Violence is shown in a very brutal manner in Kill. People have been cut like carrots and radishes with the help of sharp and pointed weapons like knives, daggers, hammers, chains, axes, etc. The film is full of scenes like cutting the neck and jaw, tearing the stomach, and crushing the head to make mincemeat. Director and writer Nikhil Nagesh Bhat has had only one aim – to show action in every frame and he has made the film keeping action lovers in mind. While watching Kill you will remember many foreign films, but this kind of attempt is probably the first in a Hindi film. Nagesh has made the character believable by portraying the hero as a commando and has shown that he can fight many alone. He is rough and tough and hence can withstand many blows from knives. However, he did not pay attention to some shortcomings in the screenplay.
For example, violence breaks out in a moving train, but no one tries to stop the train. The robbers had indeed jammed the mobile network, but other attempts were possible. The train does not stop at any station in between. The very smart hero could have separated the bogies. Railway police and TC, supporting staff, are missing from the train and finally come when the matter is on the verge of ending. These questions bother you a bit while watching the film, but Nagesh has given such a heavy dose of action to the audience for whom he has made this film that the audience, under its influence, does not give much importance to these things. If a little emotional element had been added to the story, the action would have looked more natural. Although the reason given behind the hero’s anger is very solid, the director has failed a bit in presenting it effectively.
The way the film has been placed after the interval is amazing. From here on, the action is in the front seat, and action directors Parvez Sheikh and C Young O have taken charge. There is limited space in the train bogie, despite this both the action directors have created amazing stunt scenes. People with weak hearts or those who don’t like action will hardly be able to tolerate such scenes, but those who like violence in movies will love these action scenes. An interesting U-turn in the thinking of the characters is well underlined in the film when Amrit, who is a protector, turns into a demon and brutally beats up the gang in front. Seeing him in this form, the senior leader of the gang starts talking about principles. Nikhil Nagesh Bhat kept the film away from unnecessary things, kept a check on the length of the film, and was very clear in his mind about what he was making and he stuck to it. He has tried to answer the kind of action films made abroad that such a film can be made in Bollywood too.
It is not easy to make a single-location thriller, but as a director, he has managed to hold the audience. As a writer, he could have been better. Cinematographer Rafe Mahmood shot the action sequences brilliantly. Shivkumar V. Panicker’s editing gives the film a fast pace as per the director’s vision. Lakshya has played the lead role and his agility and finishing in the action scenes impresses. He had to speak less dialogues and do more hand and leg movements, which he did very well. Raghav Juyal looked very scary. As an angry and cunning villain, he managed to send chills down the spine of the audience. Ashish Vidyarthi’s support was excellent. Tanya may have had less screen time, but she managed to make her presence felt.
This is a new stretch of Hindi cinema in the twenty-fourth year of the new century. And, this also indicates that the real easterly wind of Hindi cinema is about to come now. Indian cinema has been holding on to Shahrukh Khan even abroad till now. But, the hypnosis of stars is vanishing from the minds of the audience, they are getting attracted to stories and the ways of telling them. Even before I saw director Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt’s film ‘Apoorva’, news about Kill had started coming. There has been a lot of eagerness to see this film. And, the producers and directors of the film have also been getting information about this eagerness. It is the confidence of the makers of Kill that they are showing a film made ‘only for adults’ to the people five days before its release and are not putting any kind of restriction that the review should be published only on Friday morning. It should be noted that Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s film ‘Animal’ was shown to film critics on Friday morning itself.
Kill is better than ‘Animal’ in terms of violent scenes and after earning a lot of fame on the small screen, the innocence of actor Lakshya, who is making his debut on the big screen with this film, is no less than Ranbir Kapoor. It should also be noted that his two films ‘Dostana 2’ and ‘Bedhadak’ announced by Dharma Productions have not been completed despite all the noise. Yes, one needs a very strong heart to watch the film Kill. But, the psychology of this film is something else. Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt has taken the script of his story forward in such a way that he first shows the atrocities done by the goons and then makes its reaction so violent that the audience starts getting entertained even in this Tandava. You understand Tandava, right? The hiss of an angry Shiv after Sati’s self-immolation! Amrit is something similar here. When he turns a goon’s head into a paratha by beating it with a fire extinguisher, then despite having all the elements of the ghastly rasa, the audience sees the heroism of the hero in it.
There is an undercurrent of romance between Amrit and Tulika in the story and for a moment it seems that both of them will sing a song in the name of celebrating the fourth anniversary of their union, but Nikhil does not do anything like that. There is probably one song in the entire film that plays in the background, something like Jaako Rakhe Saiyan…! The film Kill is the imagination of its writer and director Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt and to bring this imagination to the screen, he has got two amazing partners. These partners are the film’s cinematographer Rafe Mahmood and production designer Mayur Sharma. The train seen on the screen in the film is actually a sample of cinematic technical sKill in which all this is actually happening inside the studio.
The train coaches have been prepared inside the studio and they too are exactly like the real train. All these coaches can move from anywhere. The film has been made by moving all the parts of the train forward and backward according to the shooting, but you do not know this at all while watching the film. Yes, after watching the film, if you watch the video of the making of this film, you will definitely be amazed. Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt had done the same magic with his cinematographer Ayushman Mahale in the film ‘Apoorva’. Both the films have been edited by Shiv Kumar Panicker and his sKill is clearly visible in every scene of the film. The jugalbandi of Yeong Oh and Parvez Sheikh in the action choreography of the film is also praiseworthy. After films like ‘War’ and ‘Tiger 3’, Yeong Oh has once again shown his special sKill in structuring duel scenes. These days an experiment is going on in cinema regarding immersive cinema.
In the Hollywood remake of the film Kill, if it is somehow shot in a 12D set up and the audience feels themselves to be in the train compartment while all this is happening, then its thrill will be completely different. Lakshya, who is starting his acting journey with this film, has worked very hard to live the entire thrill of the film. Lakshya, who runs carrying the film on his shoulders from beginning to end, has also proved that to become an action star, only a good story, and a geographical area are needed in which the audience can feel trapped with the hero. Nikhil has given Hindi cinema a new star in the form of Lakshya. And with this film, Hindi cinema has also got a new villain in the form of Raghav Juyal. Guneet Monga has picked up two boys next door boys from TV and made them action stars. The cruelty of Raghav Juyal’s facial expressions is very scary. Raghav Juyal has also portrayed Phani’s style of joking with his father very well.
Karan Johar may weave romance, dance, and family relationships in his films, but as a producer, he is not averse to experimenting. He has produced Kill along with Guneet Monga and Achin Jain. Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt has earlier directed the film Apoorva starring Tara Sutaria. In that too, he has shown a cruel form of violence. Nikhil has written the story of Kill along with Ayesha Syed. He does not take much time to establish the characters in the beginning and comes to the point. After the encounter with the dacoits begins, the events in between deepen it further. Because of that, the level and portrayal of action also change. The story is taking place inside a train, so most of the action takes place inside a narrow, crowded train. In such a situation, there will be no picturesque scenes here. Despite the hair-raising fight between the goons and Amrit, there is no abusive language in the film.
It is a clichéd tradition of Hindi films that the hero dominates over everyone. The friend is weak in comparison to him. Viresh is also an NSG commando. In such a situation, it is not acceptable to show him as weak. He should have had strong scenes. Tanya Maniktala, who has made a name for herself with ‘A Suitable Boy’, looks beautiful. His big deer-like eyes say a lot. Adrija Sinha impresses in the role of his sister. Raghav Juyal’s work in the role of the villain is commendable. He is in a typical Desi style. There is humor in his dialogues at times. The style of action here is purely Desi. There is cruelty, but everyone wants to see the end of the bad guy.
Kill Movie Review: The Last Words
According to the story of the film, Kill is Lakshya and Raghav Juyal’s film. But, Abhishek Chauhan in the role of the friend has added the colors of sacrifice to this story, and the big eyes of Tanya Maniktala, who looks somewhat like Mausami Chatterjee, and her style of speaking Hindi with a Bihari accent remain memorable for the audience. Ashish Vidyarthi is also impressed by the role of Beni, the leader of the dacoits, who sees his entire family dying one by one in a moving train due to the actions of his wayward son. The film Kill not only sets a new standard in the adult-only category of Hindi cinema, but this film has also been successful in achieving a new level of technical sKill. Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt should also get a chance to make its Hollywood remake because his practice of making this film has brought a hundred percent results.
