Kill: A Thrilling Ride of Action and Emotion
Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions has pulled off a surprising feat with their latest production, Kill. The pacey action thriller, produced in collaboration with Oscar-winning producer Guneet Monga Kapoor, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) last year in the Midnight Madness section. The film made news this week before its release when Hollywood filmmaker Chad Stahelski, the director of the John Wick movies, purchased the English remake rights of Kill. But does the film live up to its hype?
The Story Unfolds
Amrit Rathod (Lakshya Lalwani), a special ops commando from the National Security Guard (NSG), crashes his girlfriend Tulika’s (Tanya Maniktala) engagement to elope with her. However, Tulika refuses to elope but accepts his proposal to marry later. While they are traveling to Delhi from Ranchi in a train, a group of bandits loot the train, terrorizing the passengers and jeopardizing their lives. What happens to Tulika, Amrit, the passengers, and the bandits forms the crux of the film.
A group of bandits loot the train, setting off a chain of events.
Performances that Pack a Punch
Debutant Lakshya carries the film on his shoulders and excels, particularly with the film’s action. His lithe yet muscular physique is offset by his tiny, childlike eyes that convey sadness and urgency. Raghav Juyal as the film’s key antagonist Fani gives a fiery, committed performance. His character is dark, scary, and creepy at the same time. Not one to give up, Fani is driving the film and taking all decisions that twist the film’s story in multiple directions.
Lakshya and Raghav’s performances are a highlight of the film.
Technicalities that Impress
The film’s biggest highlight is its action. In most action films, action serves as a tool to elevate a particular hero. Kill takes a refreshing detour, elevating action itself. The heroes of the film are not stars, so the focus is purely on their performances, especially action. The action scenes of Kill are raw but also extremely stylish, resulting in storytelling that is extremely effective as well as cinematic.
The action scenes of Kill are raw and stylish, making for an intense viewing experience.
The sound design of the film deserves a special mention as it plays a major role in making the audience feel the film intensely, instead of just watching it. For instance, if a guy is punching somebody five times, every time he punches it sounds different because the guy’s face is getting increasingly damaged, which means the same punch is going to sound differently every single time. The sound design reflects the goriest aspects of the film’s action – bones cracking, jaws splitting, necks twisting, and brains and guts spilling out – every sound is painstakingly recreated to build an atmosphere of frenzy.
A Memorable Ode to Action Cinema
Kill is inspired by a real-life incident that happened to director Nikhil Nagesh Bhat. The director was once traveling from Patna to Pune in the 90s and his train got robbed by a group of bandits. He combined this real-life story with a set of filmy tropes to write Kill. The story is very straightforward and simple. There are no grand explanations or backstories, and the film does not waste any time to get to its core portions.
The film’s story is inspired by a real-life incident that happened to the director.
Kill is a memorable, audacious ode to action cinema and must be watched at the theatres. With its raw and stylish action, impressive sound design, and strong performances, it is an experience that will leave you gasping for breath.
