AK vs AK squad: Anil Kapoor, Anurag Kashyap
AK vs AK Director: Vikramaditya Motwane
AK vs AK classification: Two and a half stars
A flop director. A longtime successful star. It is a tale that is real and not real, borrowed from the real life personas of the two main protagonists: Anurag Kashyap and Anil Kapoor, the first, impetuous, frank and crazy creator of dark matter; the latter, incredibly fit, still functioning, still in demand.
An initial twist, which involves kidnapping and coercion filmed on camera, needs you to suspend disbelief: is it that the Kashyap we know is really behind the act; Could Kapoor, always known for his civility, be so rude? Or are the two playing a hyper-hypo-real version of themselves?
Motwane’s film is not just a goal. It is a meta-goal, especially when some parts hit too close to the target, and some are tantalizingly wrong. Overnight, he cannot become a star unless his surname is Kapoor, smiles Anurag, making Anil wince. This line, about the amazing longevity of the Kapoors and Khans, is well known. But we also know that Anil had to work hard for his success. And AK Jr would say that to AK Sr in his face?
Another major twist, which comes much later in the film, forces us to look back and question our perceptions. Can Anil, who we know as a hero on the screen (a complete list of his successful roles is released, which includes the perennial Lakhan and Munna), be a real-life ‘nayak’?
Any detail of this film within a film can be a spoiler. So I’ll just say that I really liked this maneuver, which could easily be called ‘raat ek baat ki’ or ‘Mumbai raat ki baahon mein’ or any other film that involves a lot of people running through the streets of a city that never sleeps, where anything can happen and where everything has a dreamlike quality. It’s logical, isn’t it? Because that’s where the stars live, and when the stars are on the roads, they belong to the public that loves them. Or wait, are the characters they play that we love?
A sequence that gave me real chills makes Anil enter the crowd and become a chameleon: is he for real or is it all coil? He is desperate, looking for someone, almost at the end of his bonds. But people who recognize him, holding phones for selfies, are amazed by the presence of his one-two-ka-four-Lakhan. The crowd roars; among them, we saw Anurag, looking with admiration.
One of the film’s internal jokes (you’ll have more fun if you’re an industry connoisseur) is based on a film that Anurag wanted to make with Anil that was never made, and look here, they are in a film together. I have always said that Anurag should act more: here he is doing Anurag, dressed in a tracksuit and a pair of Balenciagas (are they real or fake?), With great joy and a momentary manic glow. I do have a complaint, however. The film should have been clearer: it slides in parts, and you wish Anurag and / or Motwane had shouted ‘cut’ before.
Finally, we are left with that eternal question: do the actors stop acting, even when the cameras stop shooting? Basically, AK vs AK, it looks like a secret fanboy fantasy. Anil supports herself with another ‘Filmfare’ award (this time for the film that is in the film, therefore fictional), and begins to wander down a corridor in slow motion, sunglasses in place, every inch a star. The conflict is false, the hero’s worship is real.