AK
vs AK Movie Review| AK vs AK Movie Watch on Netflix
AK vs AK Movie Review
AK
vs AK Movie Review
Part
of the fun in watching AK vs AK is that it
feels like you are eavesdropping on actual Bollywood conversations. Beyond the façade of artists gushing about
each other on social media and the
rehearsed camaraderie in interviews, lies this – jealousy, dislike, insecurity, desperation
and pure, crazy hate. So in one scene,
Anil Kapoor playing Anil Kapoor tells Anurag Kashyap who is playing Anurag
Kashyap that he isn’t an aaltu faltu
chutiya. Anurag is the “chutiyon ka
Ranveer Singh. Ekdum top.” Which I think
is a pretty fabulous insult. In another
scene, Anurag pompously declares that he is the greatest. “Mere baad sab gobar hai.” Both are deliciously awful people. But don’t mistake this for the real thing.
AK vs AK begins with a disclaimer that it is a
work of fiction. Director Vikramaditya
Motwane and writer Avinash Sampath construct a narrative that consistently crisscrosses the boundaries
of artifice and truth. Scenes in the
film are shot in Anurag’s much-publicized DVD library in his home and in Anil’s luxurious house. Anil’s children Sonam and Harsh play his
children. Brother Boney Kapoor and
Anil’s trainer make an appearance. Nawazuddin
Siddiqui has a voice cameo.
The
film is constructed as a reality show. A
film school is making a documentary called Best of Indian Cinema and the first episode is about Anurag. Yogita Bihani plays an aspiring director, also
named Yogita who is trailing Anurag with
a camera, capturing the film that we see.
It’s being shot as we watch. The
long takes and handheld camera suggest cinema verité-style authenticity. But in this film within a film, there are layers
and layers of deception. Like other meta
movies, the experience is like walking through a hall of mirrors. Vikram reinforces this by capturing characters
reflected in mirrors. Especially Yogita,
who also has a credit for additional cinematography.
This
is a movie that constantly reminds you that you are watching a movie. I was amazed at how willing Anil and Anurag
were to go out on a limb. Both are game
for all sorts of abuse. They hurl
colorful insults at each other. Anil
cheerfully takes taunts about his age, his expired shelf-life, nepotism, the fact that there is only one star left in
the house – Sonam. Meanwhile Anurag
comes off as insufferably arrogant and borderline unhinged. Both are revealing the worst version of
themselves. The two also get into
physical brawls - one takes place at
Anil’s house during his birthday celebrations.
The contrast between the cheerful family occasion and the men tearing
into each other is hilarious. But AK vs
AK isn’t an extended, insider joke. Vikram
isn’t just interested in the laughs that the set-up offers. He steers AK vs AK into dark and unsettling
places.
The
film also becomes a portrait of the corrosive nature of fame, the twisted relationship stars have with
their fans – at every turn, Anil is
asked for selfies and autographs but he is also their prisoner. Ultimately, he has to become a performing monkey
or as he says, bhaand. The heart of a
film is a scene in Dharavi in which Anil, desperate and bleeding, asks the crowd for help. But first he must entertain them. Ultimately the public is the boss. As Munna in Rangeela so wisely put it - “Apun public hai. Public kisiko kuchh bhi bol
sakta hai. Jiss mein apna paisa wasool
nahin, uska dabba gul.” AK vs AK is
watchable but like so many meta movies, it eventually trips on its own
cleverness and hits a dead end. The film is designed to break the illusion of
cinema, which makes it hard for the characters
to have emotional depth. The thriller
aspect of it – Anil has limited time to
rescue Sonam who has been kidnapped by Anurag –
also runs out of steam.
Anil and Anurag, who are in practically every
frame of the film, give it everything
they can but eventually, the energy flags.
The last twist, which adds another layer of deceit, is the weakest. Still, I recommend that you see AK vs AK as a
worthy experiment. There are some
stand-out scenes here – including one in a police station where Anil goes to file a report that his
daughter is missing. Watching AK vs AK
made me hope that some filmmaker remakes one of my favorite meta movies –
Bowfinger, in which Steve Martin plays a
director who shoots a film with an A-list star, played by Eddie Murphy, without the star knowing it. AK vs AK feels like the less joyous cousin of
that film. You can watch AK vs AK on
Netflix.
Ak
vs Ak Movie Star cast
- Anil Kapoor
- Anurag Kashyap
- Sonam Kapoor
- Harshvardhan Kapoor
- Boney Kapoor
- Pawan singh
- Yogita Bhiani
- Sakshi Benipuri
AK
vs AK Movie Director : Vikramaditya Motwane