The bloody action thriller is India’s masterful answer to John Wick and Oldboy

As a genre, action has a fascinating, if uneven, history in Indian cinema. What looks like an action film at first glance often turns out to be a so-called “masala film” – a mishmash of genres that can last up to three and a half hours.

Killthe third full-length film by director Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, is not a masala film. Rather, it is probably the film that brings India closest to its own John Wick.

The film will be released worldwide – with a major push in the US – in an era of resurgence in Indian action films. It follows the global acclaim of both Hindi films (Jawan2023) and regional cinema (RRR2022) in recent years.

The film was co-produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions and stars television actor Lakshya in his feature film debut. The film also stars Tanya Maniktala (Mumbaikar2023), Raghav Juyal (Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, 2023) and Ashish Vidyarthi (Netflix film Khufiya2023).

The film has little plot. It seems as simple as its monosyllabic title. Lakshya plays Amrit Rathod, an army commando who boards the same train as his lover Tulika (Maniktala), whose influential father, Baldeo Singh Thakur (Harsh Chhaya), has arranged her marriage to someone else.

The lovers’ plans to elope are derailed when a gang of bandits hijacks the train to rob the passengers. The gang’s main member, Fani (Juyal), targets Tulika as a potential hostage to be held for ransom. Chaos, bloodbath and plenty of sharply choreographed action ensue, as brutal as it gets.

A simple story has traditionally worked for the most internationally successful artists in the genre. In Chad Stahelski’s above-mentioned John Wick (2014), a feared former criminal goes on a rampage when his car is stolen and his puppy’s life comes to an untimely end.

In Taken (2008), A man’s daughter is kidnapped, and he must use his “skills” to fight his way through a shady human trafficking ring and get her back. extraction (2020) and Extraction 2 (2023), Hemsworth plays a soldier turned mercenary who must rescue and transport people safely, facing a lot of dangers.

The story in Kill is simply used as a vehicle for the action that makes the film worthy. Every set piece is a masterpiece of bloody, brutal efficiency in a setting that almost feels like The attack (2011) on rails. Lakshya moves through his scenes as if he has been doing so for years, convincing the audience that he is a raging, unstoppable beast bent on destroying his arch enemies.

It’s a battle between the good and the bad, but Bhat challenges viewers to think about where the line should be drawn when exacting bloody vengeance on enemies.

Kills The subtext of revenge is quite effective – especially in the film’s final act, where both the audience and the bandits are confronted with the bloody remains of Amrit’s rampage.

While the film humanizes its antagonists and allows viewers to empathize with them a little, it does not. Turn that empathy into sympathy.

The bandits are despicable, morally reprehensible people who feel no need to justify the means they use to rob and plunder. One of the craziest says: “If you haven’t got it, we are the bad guys. We have Morals or principles.”

Bhat’s aim here is not to comment on how bad violence is. His intention, which is clearly expressed in the film, is to deliver a breathtaking, sharp and relentless action thriller. And he succeeds in doing just that, showing that he is at the peak of his career.

The action scenes are top-notch, thanks to the stunt choreography of Se-yeong Oh (parasite2019) and Parvez Shaikh (War2019). Accompanied by a suitably squeaky sound design and Shashwat Sachdev’s (attack2022) with a fast-paced electronic fusion soundtrack, the film is haunting and, apart from a few slightly exaggerated melodramatic moments, captures the viewer’s attention throughout.

Kills The biggest unique selling point, however, is that it succeeds in creating a genre film that is set in a very Indian setting and at the same time makes the action as dark, bloody and downright gory as the all-time classics such as The Raid: Redemption and Park Chan-Wook’s old boy.

With Lionsgate (The hunger Games) has acquired North American and UK distribution rights following the rave critical response at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, and there may be a remake in the works. There’s no better time for the film to be released.

Kill is now in cinemas across the Middle East

Updated: July 5, 2024, 11:17 a.m.