Indian cinema doesn’t have a history of action film franchises. Whenever a Hindi actioner comes up, trying to push boundaries, it is measured against its Western counterparts. Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s Kill – before its release – was being presented as ‘India’s John Wick’. The director’s filmography has been a mixed bag.
Kill is Nikhil’s first foray into full-blown high-octane action. “I had already seen Atomic Blonde, John Wick, The Night Comes For Us and of course, The Raid,” he says. “But all that was before I put pen to paper. If I tell you what I was watching during the writing process, you might laugh.” “Gossip Girl and Grey’s Anatomy.”
Writing is tough. Nikhil avoids consuming the genre he is making during the creation. “I don’t want to remake what I am watching,” he says. The idea for what became Kill was sown in his head back in 1994, when he was a student travelling in the sleeper class coach of a train, going from Patna to Pune. “I boarded at 11.30 pm and dozed off quickly. Sometime later, I woke up to a commotion outside.
We were supposed to be at Prayagraj but the train had stopped near a small village, which was not a station. There were cops outside. Apparently, 25-30 dacoits had looted an adjoining 2nd AC coach in the night. They had a tip about a marriage party on board,” he reminisces. “My compartment had some soldiers from Patna’s Danapur Army Camp. When they heard about the incident, I remember one of them saying. ‘If we were in that coach, we would have shown them what Indian Army soldiers are.’”
Kill is about two NSG commandos, Amrit (Lakshya) and Viresh (Abhishek Chauhan), whose skills are tested when a bunch of modern-day dacoits infiltrate the non-stop train they are travelling aboard. The goons are led by the psychotic Fani and the disciplinarian Beni (Ashish Vidyarthi).
There are no cut-out heroes and villains in the film, just warring factions mourning losses as the narrative gets increasingly brutal. “Aliens (1986) gave me the idea. It’s about two mothers (Ripley and Alien), trying to protect their progeny. We root for Ripley because the story is told from her point of view but there is no right or wrong side. It’s all about survival,” he says. “In Hindi action cinema, 15 to 20 goons die in a barrage of bullets and nobody cares. I wanted the audience to empathise with the dacoits as well.”
The film feels like a blend of two genres. Kill is one of the first no-holds-barred midnight gory actioners from the country. We ask Nikhil why it has taken so long for Indian cinema to create something at this scale. “Producers,” he says. “I am blessed with Dharma and Sikhya having my back but most producers aren’t willing to invest in a full-blown R-rated actioner. Another thing is to find the Head of Departments. I spoke to 65 DOPs before I finally got one.” So, is he done with action films for a while? “Nope. I am currently writing my next,” says Nikhil. “I have tasted blood.”
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