In this review, Anupama Chopra breaks down Anurag Kashyap's long-awaited Kennedy, now streaming on Zee5 after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023. Anupama examines how the film functions as a stylized descent into the personal hell of an insomniac ex-cop turned contract killer, played by Rahul Bhat, who delivers a physically imposing yet emotionally deadened performance. She highlights the stunning cinematography by Sylvester Fonseca, the haunting score recorded by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, and Sunny Leone's surprisingly effective turn as a deeply damaged woman masking her pain with alcohol and brittle laughter.
While Anupama praises Kennedy's atmospheric first hour and its singular moments of horror — including a sequence she ranks among the best in Anurag's entire filmography — she notes that the film ultimately stumbles as its plotting grows increasingly tangled without offering fresh insight into its world of corruption. She draws comparisons to Anurag's recent two-part Nishaanchi, calling Kennedy more propulsive and distinctive, while acknowledging that even in its weaker stretches, the film delivers the kind of skin-pricking flourishes that have defined Anurag's career for over three decades.
