AK vs AK

AK vs AK is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language black comedy thriller film directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and is the first release under his banner Andolan Films. Anurag Kashyap, the executive producer and dialogue writer, also stars alongside Anil Kapoor as the title characters, with Yogita Bihani, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja and Harshvardhan Kapoor in supporting roles. The story, written by Avinash Sampath, utilises a film-within-a-film narrative where the main actors play fictionalised versions of themselves. After a public feud between Kashyap, an eccentric film director, and Anil Kapoor, an aging film star, the former kidnaps the latter's daughter (Ahuja) and forces Kapoor to search for her while his assistant (Bihani) films them as part of his next project, with most of the film shown from the perspective of her camera.

AK vs AK
Netflix release poster
Directed byVikramaditya Motwane
Produced byDeepa De Motwane
Written byAnurag Kashyap (dialogues)
Screenplay by
  • Avinash Sampath
  • Vikramaditya Motwane
Story byAvinash Sampath
Starring
Music by
CinematographySwapnil Sonawane
Edited byBunty Bhansali
Production
company
Andolan Films
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • 24 December 2020 (2020-12-24)
Running time
108 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

The idea for the film was conceived by Sampath in 2013, and development started after he sent it to Motwane. At first, the film's title was AK vs SK, with Shahid Kapoor[lower-alpha 1] playing himself in the latter role, but schedule conflicts caused the film to be shelved in 2016. The project was resurrected in 2019 with Anil Kapoor in the role instead and a new script. Filming took place in December that year, and after an unconventional marketing campaign launched a few weeks before the film's release, AK vs AK debuted on Netflix as one of the service's original films on 24 December 2020. It initially received positive reviews, with praise going to the film's novel structure as well as Kashyap and Kapoor's performances. However, the ending and its buildup was considered underwhelming by critics.

Plot

The film starts from the camera of an aspiring filmmaker, Yogita, who is filming Anurag Kashyap for a documentary.[lower-alpha 2] Kashyap and Anil Kapoor are interviewed by Sucharita Tyagi for a MAMI event. After an audience member asks if the director or the actor is more important, they start arguing about the question and insulting each other's careers, eventually culminating in Kashyap throwing a glass of water in Kapoor's face. This becomes a major scandal for Kashyap and causes other film personalities to cut ties with him and back out of his projects. As he sits in his bedroom enraged, Yogita says that she has an idea.

Later, on Christmas Eve and Kapoor's birthday, Kashyap goes to his set along with Yogita and tries to pitch him a new story about a mad director who kidnaps the daughter of an aging actor, who has to find her. Kapoor is initially uninterested, but realises that his daughter, Sonam, has actually been abducted by Kashyap, who wants to capture his real actions and emotions as he searches for her. Kashyap tells him that he has ten hours (until sunrise the next day) to find her and sets three rules: he can't get the police or anyone else involved, all his phone calls must be on speakerphone, and that Yogita's camera must stay on.

Kapoor first tries going to the police, but Kashyap and Yogita catch up and convince them it is just a rehearsal for their film. Kapoor is still somewhat unconvinced that Sonam was actually kidnapped, so Kashyap shows a live feed of her being held by a masked man with a knife. After talking to his son Harshvardhan, Kapoor finds out through her driver that she was last seen at the hotel Crescent. At the hotel, he bribes the manager with an endorsement to see the CCTV footage, and spots the getaway driver's face. He searches for him on the streets of Mumbai with little success. Kapoor goes home and stealthily texts Harshvardhan the truth, but his confused reaction alerts Kashyap and causes him to confront Kapoor upstairs. As they exchange blows, the masked man cuts Sonam's finger off, so Kapoor relents. Eventually, someone directs him to a Christmas celebration to find the driver, named Javed. Kapoor finds him through the camera's viewfinder and chases him through and around Mumbai Central, losing him when he gets hit by a car. A bloodied Kapoor breaks down in front of the camera, regretting not making time for his family and begging Yogita for any information. Kashyap, having lost them earlier due to his asthma, finally arrives to taunt Kapoor and make him continue. At another Christmas celebration, Kapoor has to dance for the crowd until someone tells him where Javed lives, where they finally capture him.

Javed directs them to where he was told to take Sonam, but Kashyap insists they are not going to the right place. They arrive at what turns out to be Kashyap's house, and another call confirms that Sonam is in his DVD room. When they get in, not only is Sonam gone, but Kashyap's parents have also been kidnapped. After a struggle between the trio, Kashyap reveals the original site he had planned and they rush to it as time runs out. A mysterious masked man filming with another camera shows up, but they don't find anyone else there as the sun rises. Although Kashyap repeatedly claims that these events were not in his script, Kapoor discovers a copy and forces him to read it, which states that Kashyap intentionally diverted him, then would take a gun out from his bag and force Kapoor to kill either of themselves. Kapoor interrogates an increasingly agitated Kashyap with the aforementioned gun and accidentally shoots him.

The perspective shifts to a more standard one as Kapoor and Yogita drive Kashyap to the hospital. Sonam and Kashyap's parents are actually found in the basement of Kashyap's home, and Kashyap is to be convicted for their kidnapping. As he lays in his hospital bed, Kapoor reveals that he was the actual mastermind behind everything: angered at Kashyap's comments, he convinced Yogita after the panel show to help frame Kashyap in exchange for an opportunity to break into the industry and conspired alongside his family to make most of the dramatic turns happen, with Harshvardhan having purposely hit him with the car. Months later, the resulting film wins Yogita, credited as the director, and Kapoor Filmfare Awards, while a deranged Kashyap plots vengeance from a mental asylum.

Cast

Production
Trailer launch of AK vs AK, with (from left to right) Kashyap, Motwane and Kapoor

The film's development started in 2013, when Sampath thought of and sent the concept to Motwane.[2] Initially the film was titled AK vs SK, with a somewhat different story and cast as revealed in 2015; Shahid Kapoor[lower-alpha 1] would play himself in the actor's role, the catalyst of the plot would be Shahid Kapoor rejecting Kashyap's next film after the latter's latest venture flopped at the box office, and Shahid Kapoor's wife would be kidnapped instead.[3] It was also speculated that Shahid Kapoor's wife Mira Rajput would also make her debut in the film as herself, but this was later denied by Shahid Kapoor and his spokesperson.[3][4][5] Although he had already started filming for the project, Shahid Kapoor pulled out due to date clashes and it was shelved in 2016.[6][7] Shahid and Motwane agreed to start working on the film again in the near future, with a planned restart in 2017.[8] However, Motwane could only revisit the project in 2019 after finishing Bhavesh Joshi Superhero and Sacred Games, and decided to cast Anil Kapoor instead, stating he "always wanted a commercial star". He rewrote the script alongside Sampath with Kapoor in mind in August that year.[6][9] Motwane gave the script to Kapoor in November; to Motwane's surprise, he received it well and allowed the film to mock him in any way.[10][11] Kapoor's children, Sonam and Harshvardan, also agreed to join the project after Kapoor read the script to his family that night.[6][10] On the other hand, Kapoor's wife Sunita refused to be involved in the film at all; Kashyap humourously noted "while nothing was out of bounds as far as personal attacks against each other go, the only place they weren't allowed to enter was 'Sunita's bedroom'".[12]

AK vs AK was produced by Andolan Films, a new company that Motwane founded after the disbanding of Phantom Films, which he partially owned.[13][14] Shooting took place over 21 days in late 2019 or early 2020, with Kapoor stating that "this is the fastest film I have done in my career".[lower-alpha 3] Although scenes were shot at Kashyap's actual house, sets were put up to stand in for the streets of Mumbai as well as Kapoor's house.[9] However, according to Kapoor, much of the film's interactions are not staged, such as requests for selfies from Kapoor's fans throughout his search.[10] The Guardian described shooting as taking place "under-the-radar" and commented on how unexpectedly close the initial announcement of the film was to its release date.[16] Three separate trailers, one from the perspective of each "AK" and an "original, director's cut", were released at a launch ceremony on 7 December.[17] To promote the ceremony, Kashyap and Kapoor engaged in a "Twitter war" the day before.[18] The Indian Air Force (IAF) objected to a scene in the film featured in the trailer showing Kapoor cursing while dressed in an inaccurate IAF uniform. Kapoor later stated that the character was only an actor in the role of an IAF officer[lower-alpha 4] and posted a video offering his apology for hurting anyone's sentiments.[19] In the weeks leading up to the film, Kapoor and Kashyap made more marketing material focusing on their "rivalry", creating videos and putting up billboards insulting each other.[20]

Soundtrack
AK vs AK
Soundtrack album by
Alokananda Dasgupta, Nuka, and Rākhis
Released29 December 2020[21]
Recorded2020
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length11:11
LanguageHindi
LabelMaisie Music Publishing
ProducerAlokananda Dasgupta, Nuka and Rākhis
Official audio
AK vs AK - Full Album on YouTube

The music for the film was mostly composed and produced by Alokananda Dasgupta (with the exception of Khalaas, which was composed by Nuka and Rakhis[22]), who said she didn't understand the film's "technical depth" at first, but decided to interpret it as "three films within a film" and craft the score through that view.[23] Weiting for NDTV, Narinder Saini called the soundtrack "fun" and "catchy", and thought it would further increase the film's popularity.[21] Bollywood Hungama praised the background music for fitting the film's themes, but criticised the songs Duniya Badi Gol and Ghum, stating that they "are in a wacky space".[24] On the other hand, Roktim Rajpal of Deccan Herald described the background music as "generic".[25]

Track listing[22]
No.TitleLyricsPerformer(s)Length
1."Khalaas"Kunal Anand PadagleNuka, Rākhis, Anil Kapoor, Kaam Bhaari1:33
2."Duniya Badi Gol"Kunal Anand PadagleKaam Bhaari2:50
3."Ghum"Rajeshwari Dasgupta GhoseAmit Trivedi3:37
4."Shivali"Rajeshwari Dasgupta GhoseNakash Aziz3:11
Total length:11:11

Reception and analysis

AK vs AK was released as a Netflix original film on 24 December 2020, Kapoor's birthday and the same day most of the film takes place.[26] The film was reviewed mostly positively by critics in the days surrounding its release.[27] The meta, mockumentary-like structure of the film was hailed for its uniqueness, with Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV declaring it "Hindi Cinema's Halley's Comet".[28][29][24] Kapoor's and Kashyap's acting were also well received; the former was particularly praised, with Bollywood Hungama calling it "one of the finest performances of his career" and Tanul Thakur of The Wire describing him as "raw, real, searing".[24][30] However, the final scenes and the ending twist were considered to be rather disappointing; Anupama Chopra of Film Companion stated "like so many meta movies, it eventually trips on its own cleverness and hits a dead end."[31][32] Some critics remarked that its release timing helped; giving the film four stars out of five, Mike McCahill of The Guardian called the film a "postmodern surprise" in an "undistinguished pandemic year [for] Indian cinema", and Rahul Desai of Film Companion felt that its 2020 release "elevates the cheeky Netflix thriller into the realms of profound social messaging".[16][33] In a more mixed review, Rajpal opined that the "meta" format set back the film, and also criticised its editing and pacing.[25]

In an interview, Motwane said "We weren't making a comment intentionally... the aim was also to set the film up for an audience that is not voyeuristic about the industry".[34] However, multiple reviewers explored the film's use of inside information on and the reputations of the main actors and Bollywood in general, as well as broader questions about the roles and expectations of the film industry.[35][36] The tussle between the two main characters has been perceived as a proxy for the conflict between established personalities with a history of nepotism, such as Kapoor, a member of the "first family of Indian cinema", and relative outsiders such as Kashyap.[36][16] One scene, where Kapoor has to dance for the crowd to gain information on where Javed is, was seen by some as commentary on how the public retains power over movie stars by being able to determine their success.[31][32]

Notes
  1. Anil Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor are not related to each other.
  2. Except for the interview, news coverage of the scandal and kidnapping, the shots from the second camera held by the masked man, and the ending scenes after Kashyap is shot, most of the film is seen through Yogita's camera.
  3. In a pre-release interview, Kapoor said that shooting started in December 2019,[15] but later stated that it occurred between January and February 2020.[10]
  4. To be more specific, Kapoor was playing himself as an actor that had just finished shooting for the day after portraying an IAF helicopter pilot. Thus, he wears a IAF uniform for most of the film.

References
  1. Jha, Subhash K. (16 December 2020). "Revealed: Nawazuddin's cameo in 'AK versus AK'". National Herald. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  2. "Vikramaditya Motwane says he developed 'AK vs AK' for 7 years". The Week. Press Trust of India. 7 December 2020. Archived from the original on 25 December 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  3. "Exclusive: 'AK vs SK' stands for Anurag Kashyap vs Shahid Kapoor". Deccan Chronicle. 6 October 2015. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  4. "Shaandaar confession: Mira should act, says Shahid Kapoor's sister Sanah Kapur". DNA India. Essel Group. 22 October 2015. Archived from the original on 28 November 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  5. "Shahid Kapoor's wife Mira Rajput not doing 'AK vs SK', confirms spokesperson". The Indian Express. Indo-Asian News Service. 13 September 2015. Archived from the original on 23 August 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  6. Sinha, Seema (23 December 2020). "Vikramaditya Motwane on AK vs AK: 'Anil and Anurag are both naturally fantastic in their parts". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  7. Rakshit, Nayandeep (4 June 2016). "Shelved! Shahid Kapoor's 'AK vs SK' won't be made anymore". DNA India. Essel Group. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  8. "Shahid Kapoor and Vikramaditya Motwane to resume working on AK vs SK soon". Firstpost. 29 July 2017. Archived from the original on 31 August 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  9. Sachin, Ambica. "Ak vs AK: Will the real Anil Kapoor, Anurag Kashayp please stand up". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
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  11. Singh, Suhani (27 December 2020). "Anil Kapoor gave us full permission to make as many jokes as we want at his expense: Vikramaditya Motwane". India Today. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
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  17. "Star wars: Anurag Kashyap and Anil Kapoor battle it out in 'AK vs AK'". The Hindu. 8 December 2020. Archived from the original on 9 December 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  18. "AK vs AK: After much-publicised Twitter war, makers finally drop trailer of Anil Kapoor, Anurag Kashyap's Netflix film". Free Press Journal. Indo-Asian News Service. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  19. Gupta, Surbhi (10 December 2020). "IAF wants scenes from Anil Kapoor film AK vs AK removed, actor apologises". The Indian Express. New Delhi. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  20. Sharma, Karuna (22 December 2020). "Anil Kapoor and Anurag Kashyap aimed jibes at each other through hilarious billboards, here is why". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  21. Saini, Narinder (29 December 2020). "अनिल कपूर की AK vs AK का 'खल्लास' सॉन्ग रिलीज, एक्टर बोले- पंजाब का पुत्तर हूं मैं...देखें Video" [Anil Kapoor's song "Khalaas" from AK vs AK released; the actor said "I am a son of Punjab"... see the video]. NDTV (in Hindi). Archived from the original on 30 December 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  22. AK vs AK Jukebox. Netflix India. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  23. Chatterjee, Pramit (12 January 2021). "Exclusive: Alokananda Dasgupta Deconstructs The Score Of 'AK Vs AK', Collaborating With Vikramaditya Motwane, And More". Mashable India. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
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  25. Rajpal, Roktim (25 December 2020). "'AK vs AK' movie review: Anil Kapoor-starrer is not everyone's cup of tea". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
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  29. Chakravorty, Vinayak. "AK Vs AK: Thrives on its sheer absence of genre-specifics". Sify. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  30. Thakur, Tanul. "AK vs AK's Audacious Premise and Self-Awareness About Bollywood Ultimately Falls Short". The Wire. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
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  32. Chopra, Anupama (23 December 2020). "AK vs AK on Netflix Is A Worthy Experiment". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  33. Desai, Rahul (23 December 2020). "AK vs AK On Netflix Review: A Meta Black Comedy With The Cultural Depth of a War Movie". Archived from the original on 26 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  34. Singh, Suhani (27 December 2020). "Anil Kapoor gave us full permission to make as many jokes as we want at his expense: Vikramaditya Motwane". India Today. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  35. Parashar, Shivam (8 January 2021). "What does Vikramaditya Motwane's meta thriller AK vs AK mean for Bollywood". India Today. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  36. Das, Poulomi (5 January 2021). "How AK vs AK effortlessly holds the Hindi film industry accountable while also being hilarious". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
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