Kennedy, Anurag Kashyap’s neo-noir crime thriller that premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, will stream exclusively on ZEE5 from February 20. The platform released the film’s trailer at the Kala Ghoda Art Festival in Mumbai, offering the first extended look at the film for Indian audiences who have waited nearly three years for a domestic release.
The film follows Kennedy Uday Shetty, played by Rahul Bhat, a former police officer who now operates as a contract killer for a corrupt police commissioner named Rasheed Khan. By day, Kennedy drives a taxi. In the shadows, he carries out assassinations while being haunted by the loss of his son and the collapse of his family. Set in Mumbai’s criminal underworld, the film explores loneliness, justice and the cost of moral compromise through a noir lens.
“Kennedy is one of the most personal films I’ve ever made,” Kashyap said. “The journey has been long, but every piece of feedback at film festivals validated why I made it. The trailer takes you into the world of a deeply wounded man, violent on the outside but broken within. I’m thrilled to bring it to ZEE5 audiences in its purest form, without any compromise.”
This is the third collaboration between Kashyap and Bhat, following Ugly in 2013 and Dobaaraa in 2022. Bhat described the role as transformative. “Kennedy is lonely, angry, vulnerable, always running from his past. Living in his silence and rage was mentally exhausting, but deeply fulfilling,” he said. “Festival audiences celebrating the film gave me tremendous confidence. I’m eager for Indian viewers to experience Kennedy’s journey and his pain.”
Sunny Leone plays Charlie, a character she described as layered and demanding. “Kennedy pushed me into an entirely new emotional space as an actress,” she said. “Working with Anurag taught me to celebrate silence over dialogue. This film challenged me in ways I hadn’t experienced before.” The cast also includes Mohit Takalkar, Megha Burman, Ameer Dalvi, Abhilash Thapliyal and Karishma Modi.
Kennedy screened in the Midnight Screening section at Cannes in May 2023 and went on to play at several international festivals. It premieres on ZEE5 on February 20.