Filmmaker-writer Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, whose latest venture Kill has been in talks to date, speaks to The Pioneer about the tremendous response for the film at TIFF and more of the Behind the scenes from the film
SHIKHA DUGGAL
The greatest spot to watch Kill, a violent Indian beat-em-up set on a train and written in Hindi by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, would probably still be a cinema theatre. The director has been blown away by Lionsgate and the John Wick franchise producing company’s plans to remake his Indian action film in English. True, the filmmaker produced nonstop action scenes that as many people as possible should witness. It’s fantastic to learn that an English-language version is now being developed. It could be inevitable for it to occur!
We contact the filmmaker out of curiosity to find out more about how it all transpired and he suffuses, “People first took an interest in my film, I recall, at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) premiere. Then the news suddenly leaked out! At first, I would surreptitiously visit theatres to observe the reactions to my movie. Applause, hoots and other noises were heard. This isn’t what I recall from last time! These kinds of reactions, in my opinion, would only occur in a star-studded film, yet look at us. It was also a huge confidence booster for my actors.”
It’s unbelievable that the movie is still making news and the writer keeps telling us, “I learned with a pleasant surprise that my movie was being considered for a Hollywood remake. When I saw the guys from the production business, I could see they were shocked by the scenes I had directed and the performances my actors were giving them. The strength and emotional engagement of it rather impressed them! Do you have feelings for a dacoit? That’s what was taking place in the movie theatres. This astonished them to see. Today, a localised tale is making its way around the world; to me, this is nothing less than a phenomenon.”
Speaking briefly about his hopes for such a worldwide hit, the Apurva fame says, “My film has been viewed by people from Chile, Argentina, Ecuador and Mexico. What a feeling! They were all required to state only one thing: they all truly enjoyed the film’s emotional content. Permit me to take the readers back in time to the 1990s, when I was a child living in Patna. Back then, Bihar was an unstable state.s Every day, murders and robberies occur and I have witnessed these crimes in my immediate surroundings. But the thing that sticks out in my memory from all of this is that none of them appeared to be criminals—rather, they were charmers! I made similar suggestions in my film, which is where the inspiration that everyone is discussing originated.”
The name of the unconventional actor, Raghav Juyal, was suggested by one of his associates! After seeing a hundred or more auditions, Nikhil cast him because of a self-tape where he could see an unpredictable quality in Raghav’s eyes. “The casting director had enough of me until I decided on Raghav. I told my team right away not to put me in front of any other actors after meeting Lakshya Kapoor because I couldn’t see beyond him. He served as my Amrit. I saw Tanya Manikantala in the cult film A Suitable Boy and her innocent gaze convinced me to cast her in Kill. Her eyes convey so much emotion.”
The Patna guy reminisces about filming Kill by sharing a few unforgettable stories, such as, “I have a clear recall of the first time my film was shown at an international film festival around midnight. Suddenly, I started to get strange ideas like, “Why am I here?” Right now, I feel like something is wrong with every shot and sound! I was experiencing intense internal anxiety. I began to worry that we might be poorly received by the crowd. Twenty-five minutes in, the audience began to react. From then on, there was no turning back and the rest is history.” He said he had chills as he was talking. That’s how vivid the recollection of shooting Kill was for him!
