- Date of Release: 05 July 2024
- Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
- Language: Hindi
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Kill
Introduction
If you do get a response from the capacity crowd wherein they gasp with fear on every punch, or cheer the violent onslaught of the protagonist in the film, you know you have a winner on your hands! The Hindi film industry hasn’t quite been successful in producing an action on the lines of The Raid and The Raid 2 wherein a film would have minimalistic story but pure and unfiltered action from start to finish. Despite the likes of Tiger Shroff and Vidyut Jammwal being excellent action stars in their own rights, it is the makers who haven’t fully utilized the capacity of these stars to produce a film that would set the adrenaline pumping to its full hilt. The makers of Kill, the new Hindi film which had premiered to humongous accolades at TIFF last year, had claimed this to be the goriest film of the year. And what sounded like a far fetched claim(knowing how critics hype a film), actually managed to walk the talk and how! Here I must add that its trailer doesn’t quite provide you the actual picture of the level of action on display, something that you will be surprised pleasantly. So then does Kill manage to impress, let’s find out.
Story, Screenplay And Action
Kill follows the story of a passenger bound train to Delhi that becomes a battleground after a pair of commandos square off against an army of dacoits, in what turns out to be a gory bloodfest. Usually, I do comment on the story on what it has to offer but here, I really did not care about the wafer thin plot for it just was a catalyst to the buildup of one of the best action entertainers ever produced by India. And I say this with utmost humility that this action is probably the best that I have ever seen for an Indian film ever, arguably so. This has more to do with the variety of action that is on display as opposed to just a one trick pony of flips and jumps. The Hindi Film Industry has successfully graduated from ‘Dishoom Dishoom’ to a full blown action entertainer that has quenched my thirst for an adrenaline pumping drama that serves some of the best action sequences over the course of its runtime of 105 minutes, from start to finish. Here, I must also add that almost 9 minutes seem to be chopped off from its International version by our nonsensical Censor Board, but despite that, the fun element is intact.
It is very early on in the drama that you are acquainted with all the principal characters in a setup that is quick and doesn’t care to indulge in any sort of world building. And this was a huge positive given that the makers were self aware of what they have in store for the viewers, and what kind of cinema did they intend to serve the audience. And this is exactly what I meant when I was referring to an out and out action entertainer! If action is your core, just focus on that, and you will sail through. And that is what Kill does – has a simple premise and an even simpler conflict of robbery. But in that world, the levels of innovation come through its immaculate action set pieces.
Some of the action thrillers which were previously set majorly in trains were Train To Busan and Bullet Train, two films of diabolically opposite genres. In these films, the setting did play a very important part and the ‘action’ never got tiring with its monotonous setting. Kill delves on similar lines, staging the entire film on a moving train, and never letting the setting to get repetitive. This was mainly due to the action which was brilliantly choreographed throughout the film. Here I must also add that the action was responsible, having a perfect motive for the counter punch of the protagonist, something that never gets mindless and silly at any given point of time.
I liked how the intensity of the action sequences start off on a low note, deliberately done while beginning at a basic level, while slowly increasing the levels of intensity along with the stakes in the drama. It is almost like a reverse engineering task with respect to The Raid, wherein the protagonist there has to climb all the way to the top to reach his destination. The destination here is the lives of the people even as the protagonist has to go through the bogies of the train to eliminates his enemies who are clearing outnumbering him. A little vested interest of the protagonist is nicely highlighted too, and enough for him to run havoc. I liked how the drama refuses to play it safe by eliminating even some major characters at will, which in turn raise the stakes in the drama. This is true for its immaculate interval block with a twist that I didn’t see it coming. And that unleashes, one of the best second halves of the year!
The second half raises the level of action to a different level wherein after a point you are emotionally attached to the killing spree on show. It offers no respite to a point that if you blink, you would miss out on something that is transpiring onscreen. This, even as there are innovative techniques to kill a host of people – some of the goriest ones including an axe, a hand knife, a fire extinguisher, a rifle and some pulp smashing fists that made the capacity crowd gasp and cheer. Such was its impact that the audience wasn’t repelled with the blood and gore, but secretly wished for more. I do think a part of the 9 minute cut may have been during its final act that seemed slightly under par with respect to the simplicity of it having ended within minutes in what ought to have been an extended face-off. But this was me craving for more too in a drama that will go down as one of the best action entertainers to come out from India. More on those lines going ahead, please!
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues will have to be one of the insignificant aspects of the drama here and the lines were adequate, and rightly so when the focus was on the action. The music is good but it is the BGM that is pulsating with pumping beats, that compliment the phenomenal action sequences on show. The cinematography captures frames of violence and gore with an unwavering focus. For instance, the camera does not pan away even as a character is getting pounded on his head with a hockey stick and a portion of an axe stuck in his head. And therein lies the victory of providing unadulterated action to the viewers. The sound engineering team deserves a hike for the viewers can feel each blow land and each weapon slice through the skin. The editing is done rather smartly in action sequences, there may not be too many one-take sequences but the cuts are infused rather well. Director Nikhil Nagesh Bhat outperforms with this film that will be a shining star in his filmography. This gave me an impression that he understood the pulse of the viewers and was committed to serving them exactly that – some unadulterated action to quench their thirst. His vision really shows here wherein the direction is excellent in every sense of the word!
Performances
This may not be a performance heavy film but I would be viewing the performances from a very different lens this time around. Parth Tiwari as Siddhi and Devang Bagga as Ravi have such persistently annoying qualities as characters that they will infuriate you. But remember this is only because their characters are intended to be persistent with their action, and hence it was an incredible job done by both of them. Meenal Kapoor, Kashyap Kapoor and Komal Chhabria lend able support and all of them are impressive in their respective roles. Adrija Sinha as Aahana has a stellar screen presence wherein she does a pretty good job. Harsh Chhaya as Baldev Singh Thakur is excellent in a role that is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Papaji in Undekhi. There are subtle emotions that he ably brings to the table. Ashish Vidyarthi as Beni is wonderfully restrained yet quite intimidating with his presence in what was a wonderful job done by him, overall.
Abhishek Chauhan as Viresh is excellent in a couple of combat scenes and I was the happiest seeing such a wonderful actor transitioning to the action genre so comfortably. His vulnerability is measured and it makes for a wonderful watch. Tanya Maniktala as Tulika has a sweet presence onscreen wherein she commands unwavering attention towards her character during moments of turmoil. The emotional arc in her character might have been short lived but it doesn’t take away from what was a solid act by her. Raghav Juyal as Fani is absolutely brilliant here after his previous insipid outing in the form of Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. He does bring traces of humour to the character that does lighten the mood even while he ends up being a perfect nemesis to the protagonist, almost matching him punch to punch and kill for kill with his splendid act.
That brings me to Lakshya, an actor that has excelled with his agility and ability to shoulder some hardcore action sequences. Yes, his dialogue delivery and expressions need improvement should he choose to branch out but that criticism is for another day. He is phenomenal in all action sequences that made me realise that we may all be up for something very special in days ahead. Imagine him leading this franchise(or similar films) with resounding intensity that will continue to quench the thirst for action entertainers in this country. Still early days but an action star is born.
Conclusion
Kill is the goriest and the most violent Indian film of the year(any year), successfully validated! The Hindi Film Industry has successfully graduated from ‘Dishoom Dishoom’ to an action entertainer like this for the ages. I won’t be exaggerating when I say that this has some of the best action choreographies that I have witnessed in recent times and its trailer hasn’t justified even half of it. As Anurag Kashyap has rightly said on Letterboxd, this film has set the bar very high for action films in India. And I strongly recommend to watch this on the biggest screen possible. Available in a theatre near you from Friday, 5th July’24 and Highly Recommended from my end.
