Abhishek Srivatsava of The Times of India wrote "Kennedy stands as a reminder of what Anurag Kashyap is capable of when he trusts his instincts.Read at source
Kennedy 2023 
Synopsis
Kennedy
Kennedy is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language neo-noir crime thriller film written and directed by Anurag Kashyap. It stars Rahul Bhat and Sunny Leone in the lead roles. The film marks the third collaboration of Kashyap and Bhat after Ugly (2013) and Dobaaraa (2022).
- Director
- Anurag Kashyap
- Release
- 25 May 2023
- Studio
- Zee Studios, Good Bad Films, ZEE5
- Run time
- 148 min
- Language
- Hindi
Reviews
10 Indian-media reviews, grouped by reception.
Critics' consensus
Mixed
Critics' aggregate for Kennedy is 53/100 from Rotten Tomatoes.
Synthesized by AI (gpt-5-codex-omdb-enricher) from 12 source-backed reviews — verify against the linked sources.Common praise
- performances
Positive 10
Anuj Kumar of The Hindu wrote "Like the name of his new production house, Kashyap’s films these days are good and bad without a conjunction.Read at source
Harsh of Cinema Express wrote "While underwhelming on one level, the film suddenly attains a layer of exorcism for the filmmaker who continues to be one of the most compelling chroniclers of male loneliness.Read at source
Deepansh Duggal of The Quint wrote "Kennedy is just the film that Bollywood needed.Read at source
Mayur Sanap of Rediff.com wrote "the violence in Kennedy is often unflinching and the characters offer no easy sympathy, but you stay hooked on how it all plays out.Read at source
Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in wrote "The movie’s biggest surprise is an excellent Sunny Leone, in her first real performance.Read at source
Rahul Desai of The Hollywood Reporter India wrote "Movies like Kennedy are all about the diversions and idiosyncrasies within pre-existing formulas.Read at source
Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote "In the ultimate analysis, Kennedy is as much an Anurag Kashyap film as it is a Rahul Bhat vehicle.Read at source
Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express wrote "Bhat, returning to Kashyap’s fold after Ugly, pitches in a muscular performance, coasting on a dead-eyed stare and gravelly voice, but remains curiously impassive.Read at source
Yatamanyu Narain of News18 wrote "In the end, Kennedy defies neat categorisation.Read at source
Media & trailers
Verified video records attached to this title.
Details
Soundtrack
- The Night Anthem of Kennedy Vishal Dadlani
- Dede Tarqeeb Aamir Aziz, Boyblanck
- A Love Song Aamir Aziz, Boyblanck
- Ae Zindagi Aamir Aziz
- Kabhi Tu Bhi Roke Dekh Boyblanck
- Mera Mehboob Aamir Aziz
- Kaali Raatein Boyblanck
- The Sound Of Kennedy City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
- Kitne Qatl Aamir Aziz
- Chhalawa Aamir Aziz
Technical specs
- Release date
- 25 May 2023
- Run time
- 148 min
- Language
- Hindi
- Country
- IN
- Director
- Anurag Kashyap
- Studio
- Zee Studios, Good Bad Films, ZEE5
- Distributor
- Letterboxd Video Store (International), ZEE5 (India)
Trivia
- The film marks the third collaboration between director Anurag Kashyap and actor Rahul Bhat, following their previous works Ugly and Dobaaraa.
- The protagonist's character name was inspired by actor Vikram, whose real name is Kennedy John Victor, although he could not commit to the role due to scheduling conflicts.
- Lead actor Rahul Bhat peeled 700 apples for a specific scene and slept with a pistol to stay in character.
- Sunny Leone was the director's first choice for the role of Charlie, a casting decision influenced by her handling of a controversial television interview.
- The film was the only Indian movie selected for the launch lineup of Letterboxd Video Store, marking its first wide availability to general audiences in over 20 countries.
- The final scene was shot in Colaba where the team could not use real guns, so Bhat mimicked the firing sounds to ensure authenticity.
Tags
Hindi Cinema2026Hindi FilmReleasedHindi
