The very thought of this crazy concept was pitched by Avinash Sampath to Vikramaditya Motwane, way back in 2014. Avinash then went on to write its screenplay, and Vikram, of course, directed it.
Let’s first talk about the promotion of the film. The production team, together with Netflix, came up with quite a unique and unorthodox idea of promotion. The two AKs are played by the veteran and evergreen/ever-young Anil Kapoor and the man who is considered to be the poster boy of realistic new-age Indian cinema, Anurag Kashyap. It all started with both of them indulging in a Twitter banter, which many people took quite literally and seriously. The teaser, however, cleared that it was nothing but a promotional stunt by the team. Later, they went on to roast each other in separate videos/trailer launches, make diss tracks, and whatnot. All of this created a huge hype for the film. On the 24th of December, when Netflix finally released this mockumentary, the hype turned out to be real.
Motwane is one of the few Indian filmmakers who, with every new film, tries to break the convention. He comes up with new genres each time. He certainly is one of the most versatile directors of this era. With Ak vs Ak, he crafted a grim comedy like no other. The film is insane and splendid.
In AK vs AK, both the main leads play an exaggerated or OTT version of themselves. The cast also includes Anil’s real-life brother, son, daughter, Anurag’s mother, and father (all playing themselves). The crowd has an integral part to play in the film, and Vikram handled it quite delicately. Being a meta film, and one of the few of its kind, it confuses you in the beginning, but sooner it comforts you. Till the first half of the film, the plot really keeps you hooked with it, but in the second half, your connection will start fluctuating a bit at times. The ending is quite cliché for a thriller, could have been better, but still, it manages to justify all the events that happened in the film till that point, and also, for such concepts, the writing itself becomes tricky. So, you have to keep that in mind as well. Anurag has written some really good dialogues, and some are just okay.
The camera work of the film is phenomenal. The long shots and the chase scenes are beautifully captured by the cinematographer, Swapnil Sonawane. The constant shaking of the camera gives it a “documentary” touch. The fighting scene between Ak and Ak is nicely choreographed too. Motwane uses songs to create and break tensions in some scenes. I heard Kaambhari singing a rap; I liked that one the most.
Now, let’s talk about the performances. Anil was absolutely brilliant. I haven’t seen much of his films, but from the little that I have seen, I feel it was his best work. He gave it all. I am not a big fan of Anurag’s acting. He was terrible in Ghoomketu, which was also released earlier this year. But in this film, he has played a version of himself, and he has played it well. Harshvardhan’s case in the film is a little weird. He has this long monologue, which I felt went over the board and was a bit cringy, but having said that, I think it was done deliberately. Still, I didn’t like it as much.
On the face of it, the film is just an entertainer, but like all Motwane films, there were a lot to read between the lines in this one as well. Ak vs Ak talks about revenge, desperation, insecurity, family, and trust. The film doesn’t judge its characters, neither does it glorify them. The film keeps the stardom of the film stars checked, at the same time, it makes the audience realize how difficult a star’s life could be. Some scenes show that people, at times, really don’t care about a star’s trouble; all they want is entertainment.
**SPOILERS** (in this paragraph)
There are some scenes in the film that I really liked. The first scene of the movie, “the interview scene,” sets the tone of the film. Nawaz’s voice cameo is amazingly funny. People not recognizing Anurag and calling him by all sorts of names, the chase sequences, the dining hall scene are some of my favourites. I also liked the Bhavesh Joshi references. Both when Harsh said, “Motwane fucked me with Bhavesh,” and at the end when he shouted ‘insaffff’….hahaha, loved it.
At the end, I would say, you may love this film or hate it, but let’s all appreciate this experiment by the meta himself, Vikram Aditya Motwane! I am glad that a film like this is going to be a part of the Indian film legacy!
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