‘Kennedy’: Rahul Bhatt and Sunny Leone on stepping into Anurag Kashyap’s thriller
It’s not an Anurag Kashyap film if it doesn’t face a release delay. The filmmaker has battled distribution hurdles and censorship delays for years with a mix of candid and provocative approaches. His film, Kennedy,is set for a mainstream releasethree long years after its 2023 Cannes premiere. In the last three years, the film travelled the world, participating in significant festivals. Now, the mass audience in India can finally catch the neo-noir crime thriller.
“Of course, there was some amount of anxiety,” actor Rahul Bhat tells The Hindu about the long wait for the movie’s worldwide release. “However, it’s stayed alive due to festivals.” Bhat’s co-star, Sunny Leone, is excited as well for the movie’s upcoming OTT premiere. “I was reminded over and over again that every film will find its home, and I am very excited that this film has found one. I am excited, and no longer feel bad about the delayed release.”
The world of Kennedy is set in Kashyap’s trademark zone: raw and unapologetic. The thriller, set to drop on ZEE5 on February 20, highlights the systematic corruption of the Mumbai police and jolts you with the consequences of the normalisation of murder.
At the centre of the gritty story is Uday Shetty a.k.a Kennedy, a former cop-turned-hitman essayed by Bhat. It’s the pandemic in India, and Uday, mostly covered in a mask, shows no remorse as he displays qualities of a near-perfect hired killer. Look closely, and you sense the troubled past of the protagonist. Bhat calls playing an emotionally distant character an “internal performance.”
“Kennedy carries the trauma in his body. It’s in his walk, gaze, and stillness. Once I got into the headspace of the character, it was hard to step out of it. The movie reflects a nocturnal, decaying space. It shows what happens when survival becomes a moral compromise,” says the actor.
Long after the filming was done, Kennedy still lingered in Bhat. “I don’t believe in switching off instantly,” he admits. “Detachment isn’t a button to activate immediately. I allow the character to leave me gradually. I acknowledge the completion of its journey before letting go of the character.”
Sunny plays Charlie, a mysterious character with unique traits. “She is one of those people who looks amazing and secure on the outside but is hiding how she is actually feeling. People feel secure and insecure at the same time. They smile but fear the worst. I meet several such people on a daily basis,” she explains.
Sunny Leone in ‘Kennedy’.
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Charlie’s peculiar laugh adds to the enigma around her. “Anurag gave me references for the laugh. I had to make it a part of my personality. I was shooting a song with 150 dancers and another 100 crew members. I practised the laugh in the middle of the shoot. I told myself that if I can laugh in one of the most uncomfortable places to try something like that, then I can deliver on the sets of Kennedy easily. I took the laugh everywhere to airports, cars, and meetings,” recollects the actor.
Kennedy is marked by realistic action sequences. Bhat finds stunts in Kashyap’s films far from the usual. “He strips glamour off the action. The camera is always close and unforgiving during an action sequence in a Kashyap movie. You must match the hand-held energy of the camera by reacting to it rather than performing in a staged manner. Every punch, fall, or chase has to make you feel that it costs something. Kashyap’s writing ensures that,” explains the actor.
Bhat also opens up about the special preparations for the physically demanding character. “Kennedy lives in the body before it reaches the mind. I trained to look a certain way by stretching, going on long walks, and swimming. The insomniac nature of the character demanded me to be sleep-deprived. So, the preparation was about conditioning and not bodybuilding,” he says.
Rahul Bhat in ‘Kennedy’.
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Charlie’s humour, though dark, adds an interesting layer to the narrative. “I have a great sense of humour. It’s dry and sarcastic,” claims Sunny. “Other people might think I am not funny, but I know I am. Anurag sir got my sarcasm, and he used it to shape the character of Charlie.”
Bhat’s first scene in a Kashyap film was the famous police station sequence from the 2013 thriller Ugly. Mixed with tension and dark humour, it’s regarded as one of the best scenes in Bollywood. “That was the first day I was acting under his direction. It will remain cherished in my mind. With Kennedy, we have taken our partnership a notch higher,” says Bhat about his experience of working with Kashyap. “He is the coolest guy you will ever find. It’s amazing how simple he makes things on the sets.”
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For Sunny, regular inputs from Kashyap helped her adapt to the character. “My main goal on sets was to be the best listener and absorb as much information as I could from him. He was involved in dialogue coaching and shared stories and insights about how characters like Charlie behave and talk,” she says.
Will the brash violence in the movie fail to impress a certain section of the audience? Bhat disagrees. “Kennedy is meant to confront the audience. The violence is disturbing because the world it inhabits is disturbing. If you soften the violence, then you will be dishonest to the story. The violence exhausts, and scars, and that’s the point. There is an audience for this kind of movie, and I know people will connect to Kennedy deeply.”
Sunny feels the film will benefit from Kashyap’s loyalists. “Anurag has a huge audience. He takes a niche subject and turns it into a cult film.” Bhat feels the film is relevant due to its politics. “The subject of moral compromise isn’t time-bound. Movies with themes of psychology and inner conflict age better. That’s why Kashyap’s films have a longer shelf life.”
Kennedy starts streaming on Zee5 from February 20
Published – February 17, 2026 01:13 pm IST
