STORY: Anurag Kashyap and Anil Kapoor play themselves in this mockumentary that captures the ego tussle between a boastful mainstream actor and a cocky indie film director. They have a bone to pick with each other. Who’s superior — actor or director?
REVIEW: Their rivalry dates back to the time when Kapoor, then at the peak of his acting career, flatly refuses to work with an obscure upcoming filmmaker (Kashyap). Cut to today, Kapoor is now keen to collaborate but Kashyap believes it’s payback time. He expects the senior actor to acknowledge the shift in power but the latter has no such intent. An argument ensues at a live event between the two and things get out of hand.
The banter and jibes turn ugly. What follows answers the question raised.... who dances to whose tunes? Actor to director’s or vice versa. Things further escalate when Kashyap kidnaps Kapoor’s daughter Sonam (Sonam Kapoor in a special appearance). The actor must find her by sunrise. Kashyap captures the hunt on camera so we see the hostage drama unfold in real time over the course of a night. But there’s a twist and things are not as straight as they seem.
Vikramaditya Motwane comes up with an interesting premise. He makes two people drop the professional pretence and play what they are known for. Kashyap for courting controversies with his douchey comments and Kapoor for being unabashedly self absorbed. Their off-screen image is cleverly used to craft the parody and the protagonists are sporting enough to take it on the chin. The beginning makes you optimistic enough to expect a Coen Brothers like twisty parody. However, the sharp writing is short lived.
The film soon turns into a tedious hostage drama that wants us to be suspicious. But the expletives get repetitive and punches lose steam. It all feels like a loud scripted reality show, which struggles to be engaging. No thrill or fear is evoked as Kapoor races against time in Liam Neeson-esque Taken avatar to save his daughter. Kashyap gets to be a silent spectator with a forced evil laughter at regular intervals. Despite the urgency shown through the ticking time updates or the deliberate shaky (handheld) cam footage, hours feel like days.
The problem is the story thinks it is far more clever than it actually is. In doing so, at times it comes across like a BTS (behind the scenes) footage of fans Motwane and Kashyap being excited to have Kapoor on board. Some of the banter is humurous but after a point the conversation gets gimmicky and keeps going in circles. They all revel in their own glory and that kills the very purpose of this film — to strip people off their vanity and show who they really are. What we get here is what we already know or expect.
Anil Kapoor reminds you why acting should be best left for actors. He is the star of the show. He exaggerates in parts though and Kashyap is out and out theatrical. Anil Kapoor’s son Harsh goes OTT in his cameo. Speaking of one of the best performances, it comes in the form of Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s voice, which adds more depth and gravitas than the rest.
AK vs AK takes a jibe at Bollywood’s various traits — from mutual admiration to vanity to stars’ evident PDA across platforms, real and virtual. The film boldly tries to give you a reality check. It partially works as a satire, making commentary on the workings and culture of the industry. The thought is audacious, but the larger idea is thwarted by its own ambition to be desperately different.