AK vs AK premiered on 25th December 2020 on Netflix. Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, the 108-minute-long film stars Anurag Kashyap and Anil Kapoor in the title role with Yogita Bihani, Sonam Kapoor, and Harshvardhan Kapoor in supporting roles. The film follows the film-within-a-film narrative style and subjects both Kapoor and Kashyap to unforeseen situations in the AK vs AK battle!
Who Is The Bigger AK?
After a public feud between Anurag Kashyap, an eccentric film director, and Anil Kapoor, an ageing film star, during a film festival, things take a turn. As the scandal ruins various projects and leads to other celebrities breaking ties with him he decides to move a step ahead to determine who is the bigger AK.
On Christmas Eve and Kapoor’s birthday, Kashyap, along with his assistant Yogita, an aspiring filmmaker, crashes Kapoor’s vanity van and proposes a story to which Kapoor obviously refuses after the entire scandal. But Kashyap will not take no for an answer and reveals that the film is not just reel but real now to as he kidnaps his daughter Sonam K Ahuja and he wants raw emotions and a father’s search for his daughter on tape.
Kapoor has 10 hours (until the next sunrise) to find his daughter but he cannot talk to the police or his family about the same. Will he find Sonam? Or will he lose his daughter forever? Is this ageing star the bigger AK? Or an eccentric director like Kashyap is the bigger AK? All these questions are what we chase in the 108-minutes-long journey.
AK vs AK is amazingly written and executed. The dialogues here are by Kashyap himself and time and again I’ve respected him for his creativity and skills and he again proves his hold on his art in this film. There are no moments in the film that bring dullness or predictability here, it all seems raw and real. So much so that you start anticipating and feeling with the characters. Both the AK’s (Anurag Kashyap and Anil Kapoor) are convincing and compelling in their own onscreen depiction!
When I first saw the trailer of the film, the premise was nothing new or random for me – A father’s search for his daughter. But the way Vikramaditya Motwane executed the entire idea is a thing to hold on to and appreciate. AK vs AK is a master lesson in art politics and cultural commentary which is disguised as a dramatic narrative gimmick but watching closely, it’s more. It is more of an outcome of an artist/creative/filmmaker to the world and his surrounding environment in the language of art and creativity.
For those who have observed Anurag Kashyap over the years, it’s not tough to fathom his uniquely sentimental love for cinema evolving into something far more sinister on a darkened day hit by the odds. Kashyap goes psychotic with disarming ease, lamping on his own image while remaining true to all the pompous and pretentious-director tropes which are impressive and thought-provoking. Kashyap, who is impersonating himself here, extends his work into the realm of his personal life and workspace.
However, in an overall view, there is a melancholic undertone for both the AKs here which is brought together with ease and realistic voyeurism making AK vs AK a film to be watched, appreciated, thought over, and enjoyed. Through this film, the filmmakers have paved the way for more such films with a brilliantly crafted narrative structure and we will hopefully get to see more of it in the near future.
Stream It or Skip It
STREAM IT! Who is the bigger AK is for you and the film to decide but AK vs AK is a masterpiece of its own kind. The film is engaging and keeps you wondering till the very end about the possible outcome of the entire AK vs AK situation. There are various scenes that’ll make you feel both sad and frustrated like the Christmas party scene or the police station shenanigans. It never goes downhill here. The film is a perfect blend of every aspect it brings forward and is undeniably a praiseworthy and successful experiment.
AK vs AK is now streaming on Netflix.
Read our other reviews here.