Karan Johar's 'KILL': How the violence in Lakshya's acting debut reduces Ranbir Kapoor's 'Animal' to a Disney cartoon

The name is Amrit, Amrit Rathore, played by debutant Lakshya, who displays relentless rage; his name suggests purity, and this commando has no freaking idea how a world of impurity awaits him. Just like his last film Apurva, director Nikhil Nagesh wastes zero time in unleashing the barbarism of his narrative. But Apurva feels like a starter, Kill explodes like a buffet that continues to feed the hungry. Even when the burps suggest the tummy is full, the food continues to throw itself on the customer. But since this is a film by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, there has to be a love story. The girl is Tanya Maniktala, who lets her bulging eyes do the talking. She’s about to board a train that this man gate crashes. And again, little do they know there are 32 gate crashers in four bogies that are waiting to vindicate the moniker.

The first trace of blood itself elicits a state of shock as the perpetually comical Raghav Juyal does the honor. He does crack few jokes here too, but the listener is about to take its last breath. Whoever said he who laughs last laughs the longest wasn’t entirely wrong. Cinematographer Rafey Mehmood and stunt directors Parvez Shaikh and Se-yeong Oh design a claustrophobic set-up to add more pulp to the nauseating visuals pumped up by a team of 15 people from the camera department. The whole film plays out on the irony of how each breath is coming to a halt on the wheels that refuse to stop.

Conflict, and cliche

The conflict is simple. A woman is in danger. The man she loves is a commando. Who else will do the rescuing? The visceral and unflinching violence could be discomforting and dangerous for viewing, but the film revels in its ugly bloodbath and bone-chilling close-ups. The more you suffer, the closer you’re filmed. But Nagesh and his co-writer Ayesha Syed don’t reduce the men on the other side of law as caricaturist cartoons. They weep, they scream, they are brutally bruised, and they too suffer from a state of anger and anxiety. But Kill is also marred by a sea of clichés that heap up consecutively towards the end. The villain wastes his time monologuing and reminding the hero how he massacred the lady he passionately loved.

Brave, and bravo

Kill has been largely promoted and praised for its action by the makers and international critics. For them, this isn’t the form of filming or storytelling they have experienced in any Hindi film prior. We have mostly adorned celluloid action heroes like Chulbul Pandey and Bajirao Singham. Last year, we got what was marketed as an unforgiving and unabashed action film called Animal . The 20-minute stretch that unfolds in that hotel room or the climatic battle between a misogynist and a monster was all that we had in the name of mayhem. With Kill, Hindi cinema takes a giant leap with audacity knowing no bounds. And who would’ve imagined this could be an offering from the man who only filmed a slap in the name of violence in his films- Karan Johar. So for all those who thought Animal reeked of violence, this discomforting debut vehicle reduces that blockbuster to a Disney cartoon.