What Is the Story About?
Kennedy follows Uday Shetty, a former Mumbai police officer who is officially believed to be dead. In reality, he is alive and operating under the name Kennedy. He now works secretly as a contract killer, carrying out assassinations across Mumbai while living a hidden life as a taxi driver. He works for powerful figures within the police system, especially a corrupt commissioner who uses Kennedy to eliminate threats without leaving any trace.
The story moves across different timelines, showing Kennedy’s present life as a killer and slowly revealing his past as a police officer. Years earlier, Uday was part of the system he now operates outside of. Something happened during that time that destroyed his personal life and pushed him into isolation. His wife and children are no longer part of his life, and the emotional damage from that loss continues to haunt him.
As Kennedy continues to carry out killings, it becomes clear that he is not working only for others. He is also searching for someone connected to his past. His killings are tied to a larger conspiracy involving corruption, power, and betrayal within the police force and political system. The commissioner believes he controls Kennedy, but Kennedy has his own agenda.
The film follows Kennedy over several tense days as he moves through Mumbai’s dark underworld. He encounters people who become part of his journey, including Charlie, a woman who lives in the same dangerous environment. At the same time, Kennedy is forced to confront memories of his past and the consequences of the choices he made.
As the story progresses, the truth behind Kennedy’s transformation is revealed. The film becomes less about the killings themselves and more about understanding how a police officer became a man who lives outside the law.
Performances?
Rahul Bhat is unquestionably the backbone of Kennedy, and his performance is the film’s greatest strength. He understands that this is a character defined more by absence than presence. Kennedy is a man who has already lost everything that made him human, and Bhat reflects that emptiness through stillness. His face rarely changes, his voice remains flat, and his movements feel mechanical. But this emotional numbness never becomes boring. Instead, it becomes disturbing. You sense that violence is routine for him, not an act of rage but an act of function. At the same time, there are brief flashes where the mask slips. In scenes connected to his past, Bhat allows small cracks of pain to emerge. He never overplays these moments, which makes them far more effective. He makes Kennedy feel like a man who cannot return to who he once was.
Sunny Leone, as Charlie, is a surprising presence. She brings a certain sadness and disorientation to the role. Charlie feels like someone drifting through a world she does not fully control or understand. Leone captures that instability in an okayish manner, especially in the moments where Charlie observes more than she speaks. However, the character itself is underwritten. The film hints at emotional depth but never fully develops her motivations. Leone does what she can within those limits, but the writing prevents the performance from reaching its full potential.
Mohit Takalkar plays the police commissioner with calculated restraint. He avoids playing him as a loud or stereotypical villain. Instead, his calm demeanor makes the character more believable and unsettling. He represents systemic corruption rather than individual madness.
The supporting cast, including Shrikant Yadav and Megha Burman, perform their roles effectively, though their characters exist more to serve Kennedy’s journey than to stand independently.
The only real limitation in the performances comes from the writing, not the actors. Rahul Bhat rises above it completely, but others are occasionally constrained by characters that are not explored deeply enough.
Analysis
A lot can be said about films that are discarded by the system. Kissa Kursi Ka in the olden days. Monkey Man and Kennedy in the recent age are examples of artists succumbing to authorial control. So the release of Kennedy is a really nice event where we can see the reaction of the people towards such films. Kennedy is not banned per se, that is why it is even streaming in India. This delay is due to the industry problems, particularly the Sony ZEE merger. But is there anything worth the hype?
Kennedy is a film driven more by mood and character than by story. Anurag Kashyap is not interested in creating a conventional thriller where the goal is simply to find out what happens next. Instead, he builds the film around the psychological state of a man who has lost his identity and now exists in a moral and mortal vacuum. This approach gives the film a strong emotional and thematic foundation, even when the narrative itself becomes uneven.
The most compelling aspect of Kennedy is how it presents its central character. Kennedy is not portrayed as a hero or even as someone seeking redemption. He is a man trapped in a system that uses him as a disposable weapon. The film shows how institutions create monsters and then hide behind them. Kennedy operates freely, but his freedom is an illusion. He is controlled by powerful figures who remain untouched. This dynamic becomes one of the film’s strongest ideas. It suggests that Kennedy is not the real villain. He is simply the most visible symptom of a much larger corruption.
Music and Other Departments?
The music in Kennedy plays a very deliberate role, often acting less like background support and more like an active instrument shaping the film’s identity. Anurag Kashyap uses classical compositions and stylized sound design to create a sense of psychological unease. This ambition is clear from the opening sequence, where classical music is used to evoke sophistication and control. The intent is to present Kennedy as someone operating with cold precision. However, this choice also feels slightly forced. The music draws attention to itself rather than blending naturally into the scene, making the moment feel more designed than lived.
At times, the score becomes flashy, almost overstating emotions that are already visible in Rahul Bhat’s performance. Instead of deepening the character, it occasionally creates distance. The editing and visual rhythm follow a similar pattern. The film is technically polished, with fluid transitions and stylized staging, but this polish sometimes emphasizes style over emotional clarity. While these choices reinforce the film’s noir identity, they also make parts of Kennedy feel more constructed than organic.
Other Artists?
Kashyap also does an excellent job of creating a consistent emotional atmosphere. The film feels suffocating from beginning to end. Kennedy’s loneliness, guilt, and emotional exhaustion are present in almost every scene. His insomnia becomes more than a physical condition. It reflects a mind that cannot escape its past. Even when he continues killing, there is no sense of thrill or satisfaction. The violence feels empty, which reinforces the idea that Kennedy is already spiritually dead.
The film also benefits from its political undercurrent. Without being overly direct, it comments on the breakdown of trust in institutions. The pandemic setting is not just a backdrop. It reflects a time when systems were fragile, and power could be misused more easily. The film hints that people like Kennedy exist because the system allows them to exist.
However, Kennedy is not without flaws, and many of them stem from its storytelling structure. The film constantly shifts between timelines, flashbacks, and present events. While this fragmented structure is meant to reflect Kennedy’s fractured mental state, it often weakens the emotional impact. Instead of gradually discovering his past, the film reveals important information too early or too directly. This reduces the sense of mystery and emotional buildup.
The screenplay also struggles with what to do. At several points, the film becomes more confusing than engaging. New characters and subplots appear without enough development. Some narrative threads feel incomplete or unnecessary. This makes the film feel longer and more scattered than it actually is. The emotional core remains strong, but the storytelling occasionally loses focus.
Another limitation is the film’s emotional distance. While Kennedy himself is fascinating, the world around him feels less developed. Supporting characters appear and disappear without leaving a lasting impression. This prevents the film from reaching the emotional depth it seems to aim for. The audience understands Kennedy’s pain, but they do not fully feel the emotional weight of the world he has destroyed.
Despite these flaws, Kennedy remains a watchable experience because of its ambition and conviction. Kashyap refuses to simplify his character or his themes. He does not offer easy explanations or comforting resolutions. The film is less interested in providing answers and more interested in observing a broken man moving through a broken system.
Kennedy ultimately works best as a character study rather than a thriller. Its strengths lie in its psychological honesty, its bleak atmosphere, and its willingness to embrace discomfort. Its weaknesses lie in its scattered narrative and uneven storytelling. Even so, the film leaves a lasting impression because of its central idea: Kennedy is not just a killer. He is the result of a system that creates violence and then pretends to be shocked by it.
Highlights?
Performances
Concept
Drawbacks?
Screenplay
Did I Enjoy It?
In parts
Will You Recommend It?
Only if you are a hardcore Kashyap fan.
Kennedy Zee 5 OTT Movie Review by Binged Bureau