Xtreme Vogue Mumbai Desk: Komal Qureshi
Kill Review 3.5/5 & Review Rating
Star Cast: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Raghav Juyal
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Synopsis:
KILL is the story of a man fighting baddies. Amrit Rathod (Lakshya) is an NSG commando who has just returned from an operation. As soon as he reaches his base, he gets SOS messages from his girlfriend Tulika Singh (Tanya Maniktala) that her father Baldeo Singh Thakur (Harsh Chhaya) has fixed her engagement. Amrit takes fellow NSG commando and friend Viresh (Abhishek Chauhan) to Ranchi, where Tulika’s engagement is taking place. Tulika and her family are returning to Delhi by train. Amrit and Viresh also book berths on the same train. During the journey, Tulika and Amrit secretly meet and the latter promises to marry her. Sometime later, a huge gang of dacoits, who are also on the train, start looting passengers. Amrit and Viresh, at first, surrender to them. But when they see that the gang members, headed by Fani (Raghav Juyal), are harming Tulika’s family, they spring into action. They use their commando skills to assault the dacoits. In the ensuing madness, Amrit kills a senior member of the gang. Meanwhile, Tulika’s younger sister Ahaana (Adrija Sinha) has been separated from the rest of the family. Fani, on the other hand, is devastated by the demise of the gang member, who is also his uncle. He swears revenge. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Story Review:
Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s story is basic. But Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s screenplay is taut and engaging. We have seen Western or South East Asian films set in the train in the past. But this is a film set on an Indian train that has a unique design. As a result, one is glued to the screen from start to finish. Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s dialogues are sharp and a few one-liners stand out.
Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s direction is terrific. His last film APURVA [2023] also was a bit in the same zone, where the protagonist single-handedly emerges victorious though she is outnumbered by the goons. But that was a survival drama while here, the protagonist has a different motive in fighting the baddies. As said before, an Indian mail express is different and it gives the makers a lot to explore. And they make good use of it. Moreover, the protagonist is fighting in a certain way but changes gears (and how) after a shocking development. It also gives him a solid reason to go all out. Most importantly, the audience will also root for him. In fact, a few scenes are too violent but will be greeted with claps as the viewers want the hero to win.
Performances:
Lakshya puts up a confident debut. He looks dashing and has a baritone voice that adds to his persona. Performance-wise, he’s first rate and looks convincing as an action hero. Raghav Juyal is a revelation. He rocks the show as the villain and this is surely one of the best performances of the year. Ashish G Vidyarthi (Beni), as expected, is superb and the dilemma that his character goes through makes it even more realistic. Tanya Maniktala has an amazing screen presence and deserves to be seen more. Abhishek Chauhan leaves a huge mark. Harsh Chhaya and Adrija Sinha lend able support. Meenal Kapoor (Tulika’s mother) is fair. Parth Tiwari (Siddhi; strong man in Fani’s gang) and Kashyap Kapoor (Dhannu; who pretends to be a common passenger) stand out. Others also give good performances.
Other technical aspects:
KILL should have been a song-less film. The two songs, ‘Jako Rakhe Saiyaan’ and ‘Nikat’, fail to register. Ketan Sodha’s background score, however, is exhilarating. Rafey Mahmood’s cinematography is award-winning. To shoot action scenes in confined spaces and yet give the film a cinematic feel is not easy. But the lensman comes out with flying colours. Se-Yeong Oh and Parvez Shaikh’s action is one of the USPs of the film. It is extremely bloody and gory and not for the faint-hearted. At the same time, a few fights are novel and would be loved by the audience who enjoy such scenes. Mayur Sharma’s production design and Rohit Chaturvedi’s costumes are realistic. Digital Turbo Media and Reflections Pictures’ VFX is top-class. Shivkumar V Panicker’s editing is slick.
Conclusion:
On the whole, KILL is a violent and stylish action entertainer. At the box office, it might start slow and also face competition from KALKI 2898 AD. But it has the potential to grow not just in urban areas but also in mass centres. This 105-minute-long film also deserves to be played without an interval for a better impact.
