MUMBAI: Director Anurag Kashyap says the idea of his much-anticipated film "Kennedy" came from his friend and fellow filmmaker Sudhir Mishra, who had originally planned to make the movie with actors Sanjay Dutt and Tejaswini Kolhapure decades ago.
Starring Rahul Bhat, the Hindi-language neo-noir thriller received a standing ovation on Sunday night at its screening at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023 under the Gala Premier South Asia section.
During the Q&A session post the screening, Kashyap said Mishra had roped him in to write a movie revolving around Uday Shetty, the character eventually played by Bhat in "Kennedy".
"Uday Shetty, as a character, has stayed in my head for close to 20 years. Sudhir had hired me to write a film, which had Sanjay Dutt and Tejaswini Kolhapure, but it did not take off. He (Mishra) used to talk about a cop from the '80s called Uday Shetty. He (the cop) actually existed and we have not even changed the name (in the film)," the 51-year-old director said to a packed house.
Kashyap, known for films including "Black Friday", "Gulaal", "Gangs of Wasseypur", and "DevD", said he revisited the idea by setting "Kennedy" during the pandemic-led lockdown in March 2020.
"Things that happened in the lockdown. It was a combination of anger, depression and frustration of not being able to do what you want."
"All those things combined, the events that were reported in the papers, I felt this is the correct place to put Uday Shetty from the '80s and put him in the lockdown (in the story)," he added.
"Kennedy" received its world premier under the Midnight Screenings segment at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in May.
It has since been screened at the Sydney Film Festival and Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.
According to the film's official plotline, Bhat plays an insomniac ex-cop, who finds himself entangled in a corrupt system while seeking redemption.
It marks the third collaboration between Kashyap and Bhat following "Ugly" (2013) and "Dobaaraa" (2022).
"I was going to portray a lot through the eyes because there weren't too many lines, there was less dialogue-baazi, so my eyes had to do the talking. I had to go through a physical transformation for this role. I had to put on 20 kg," Bhat said.
"Kennedy" also stars Sunny Leone, Mohit Takalkar and Abhilash Thapliyal.
Leone, who plays the role of Charlie in the movie, expressed gratitude to the audience for their response.
"I was under the guidance of Anurag sir and he gave me the pointers of what he wanted. He wanted this laugh and I've never laughed like that before. Between his briefs and what I created in my own mind.
"This young woman who was going through a lot and yet was hiding with her exterior, her laugh. We all know someone who hides behind a laugh or smile. I followed what he said and I tried to be the best person I could," she added.
"Kennedy" is produced by Zee Studios and Ranjan Singh & Kabir Ahuja of Good Bad Films.
Sylvester Fonseca is the director of photography, and the music of the film is composed by Ashish Narula with Aamir Aziz & Boyblanck.
Shariq Patel, CEO of Zee Studios, said they plan to release the movie in theatres in India soon but are yet to finalise a date.
He urged viewers to support festival films like "Kennedy".
"If 'Oppenheimer' can do Rs 150 crore here, we need festival films to get some sort of support. It is important what you say, how you promote it, you are the first brand ambassador for this film.
"When we release this in the coming month. We don't have a date yet though, so, all of you have to buy tickets. It is important. If this doesn't work in theatres, the flow of money stops. If you want Anurag to make more (films), support him," Patel added.