AK vs AK

AK vs AK
Netflix release poster
Directed by	Vikramaditya Motwane
Written by	Anurag Kashyap (Dialogues)
Screenplay by	Avinash Sampath Vikramaditya Motwane
Story by	Avinash Sampath
Produced by	Deepa De Motwane
Starring	Anil Kapoor Anurag Kashyap Yogita Bihani Sonam Kapoor Harshvardhan Kapoor
Cinematography	Swapnil Sonawane
Edited by	Bunty Bhansali
Music by	Alokananda Dasgupta
Production company	Andolan Films
Distributed by	Netflix
Release date	24 December 2020 (2020-12-24)
Running time	108 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi

AK vs AK is an Indian Hindi-language black comedy thriller film directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and stars Anil Kapoor,Anurag Kashyap and Sonam Kapoor Ahuja. Written by Avinash Sampath, the film follows a film director who kidnaps the daughter of a star and shoots it as the star searches for her. Sonam Kapoor and Harshvardhan Kapoor play supporting roles in the film. It premiered on Netflix from 24 December 2020.

Plot

Anurag Kashyap gets an aspiring filmmaker, Yogita, to document his life. One day, Kashyap and Anil Kapoor are interviewed on a variety show. 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 actors to back out of his projects. As he sits in his bedroom enraged, Yogika says that she has an idea.

The next day, Christmas Eve and Kapoor's birthday, Kashyap goes to his set along with Yogika (whose camera the audience is seeing from) 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 not interested at first, but realizes that his real-life daughter, Sonam, has actually been kidnapped by Kashyap, who wants to capture his real actions and emotions. Kashyap tells him the rules: he has ten hours (until sunrise the next day) to find her, he can't get the police or anyone else involved, all calls he makes must be on speaerkphone, and that Yogika's camera must always be recording.

Kapoor first tries going to the police, but Kashyap and Yogika catch up to him 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 the kidnappers with a knife. Kapoor is scared and starts following the rules more carefully. After talking to his son, Kapoor finds out through her driver that she was last seen at the hotel Crescent. After arriving, he has to bribe the manager with an endorsement to see the CCTV footage. He searches for the driver of the taxis the kidnappers used on the streets of Mumbai, but has no success. Finally, someone directs him to a Christmas celebration to find the driver, named Javed. After finding him, Kapoor chases him but is hit by a car and loses him. At another Christmas party, Kapoor has to dance for the crowd until someone tells him where Javed lives, and Kapoor finally catches up to him.

Javed directs them to where he was told to take Sonam, but Kashyap repeatedly insists that the place he is talking about was not in the script. The place turns out to be Kashyap's house, and another call confirms that they have held her in his DVD room. When they get there, not only is Sonam gone, but Kashyap's parents have also been kidnapped. After a struggle between the trio, Kashyap reveals the original site and they rush to it as time runs out. A mysterious second cameraman shows up, but they don't find any of the kidnapped. Although Kashyap repeatedly insists that it was not in his original script, Kapoor discovers a copy and forces him to read it, which supposedly reveals that Kashyap intentionally diverted him and was going to force Kapoor tho choose between shooting himself or Kashyap with a gun in his bag. As Kapoor interrogates an increasing agitated Kashyap, he accidentally shoots him.

The movie shifts to a neutral POV as they take Kashyap to the hospital. Sonam and Kashyap's parents were actually found in the basement of Kashyap's home, and Kashyap is to be convicted for their kidnapping. As he lays in the hospital bed, Kapoor reveals that the whole film was his plan all along: he convinced Yogika to frame Kashyap in exchange for an opportunity to break into the industry and he and his family were only putting on an act. Months later, the resulting film wins Yogika, who is credited as the producer, and Kapoor awards. Meaanwhile Kashyap, now in a mental asylum, only thinks of revenge.

Cast

• Anil Kapoor as himself
• Anurag Kashyap as himself
• Yogita Bihani as Yogita
• Sonam Kapoor as herself
• Harshvardhan Kapoor as himself
• Sucharita Tyagi as herself
• Boney Kapoor as himself

Production

The film, which was earlier titled AK vs SK, was written by Avinash Sampath in 2013. Earlier, Shahid Kapoor and Anurag Kashyap were supposed to play themselves in the film, which did not work out.

Reception

Mike McCahill of The Guardian gave AK vs AK a glowing 4-Star Review calling it an "ingenious meta-feud of Bollywood heavyweights"

Anupama Chopra of Film Companion called AK vs AK a “worthy experiment” adding that the film is “watchable but like so many meta movies, it eventually trips on its own cleverness and hits a dead end.”

Rahul Desai of Film Companion called AK vs AK a “A Meta Black Comedy With The Cultural Depth of a War Movie” adding that “AK vs AK is not so much about a spat between two grown men as it is about the war of two Indias.”

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave AK vs AK 3.5/5 Stars calling it “Hindi Cinema's Halley's Comet” adding “AK vs AK is a wild, wacky shot in the dark. It could have been a disaster had the brains behind it did not know what they were up against. That certainly isn't the case. The film's self-awareness borders on the staggering.”

Rohit Vats of News18 gave AK vs AK a 4/5 rating and wrote that “Anil Kapoor, Anurag Kashyap Shine In Vikramaditya Motwane's Terrific Film”

Controversy

The Indian Air Force had objected and asked the makers to withdraw a scene in the film where Kapoor is shown cursing Kashyap dressed in a Air Force uniform. Kapoor later posted a video offering his apology for hurting anyone's sentiment.

External links

• AK vs AK at IMDb