Kill has just opened in cinemas across the UK and US (Picture: Lionsgate)
Kill, the two-hour action movie from legendary producer Karan Johar, is breaching new frontiers as South Asian cinema continues to sweep the world.
Hollywood’s action-thriller genre has taken a hit in recent years. Films like Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagaunderperformed at the box office.
Meanwhile, anticipated streaming hits such as Netflix’s The Killer and Prime’s Road House dwindled on certified film review site Rotten Tomatoes at 61% and 53% respectively despite strong viewership.
But as Hollywood churns out predictable sequels and well-worn action figures, Indian cinema is innovating on a global scale.
Indian filmmaker Karan – best known for beloved Bollywood films such as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham – just released his biggest project yet after his company Dharma Productions teamed up with Lionsgate to release Kill.
‘It’s not what normally happens,’ the veteran of Hindi cinema said after the historic partnership was confirmed.
Furiosa is just one of the films that didn’t quite meet expectations (Picture: AP)
‘The films we make for exhibition in India are invariably released for the diaspora. This time, it’s for a global audience and international distribution,’ he added.
Kill, created by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, follows Indian army commando Amrit (played by Lakshya) who boards the same train to Dehli as his secret fiancee Tulika (Tanya Maniktala) and her wealthy family.
But when a large gang, headed by Fani (Raghav Juyal), infiltrates the train to rob and terrorise passengers, Amrit soon has to brutally fight his way through the train to protect all he holds dear.
The movie is packed with complex, jaw-dropping action sequences, graphic gore and intense emotional beats that drive the plot and keep the audience’s heart pounding throughout.
Is Kill outpacing tried-and-tested Hollywood blockbusters? (Picture: Lionsgate Films)
There is such great anticipation of its box-office success that the action-thriller has already been coined for an English-language remake under John Wick director Chad Stahelski.
It has come at the perfect time when cinema across the Indian sub-continent reaches new levels of international acclaim.
Of course, South Asian cinema (especially Bollywood) has always been a global empire given the vastness of the subcontinent (homing a quarter of the world’s population) and the thousands more diaspora scattered across the world.
It’s also seen the launch of stars such as Priyanka Chopra-Jones, Deepika Padukone, Shah Rukh-Khan and AAmir Khan who are renowned figures in the industry.
But there seems to have been yet another shift as rich new films come to the fore and find new audiences.
Dev Patel’s action debut scored an 88% critics score (Picture: AP)
In April, Oscar-nominated actor Dev Patel blew critics away with his own action-packed directorial debut, Monkey Man.
The discourse-sparking revenge film, created by and starring the British actor, deftly tackled pressing political issues and corruption facing India today through the lens of the poorest and most powerless in society.
In creating a new action hero, the actor had fans clamouring for a sequel.
Ironically, the independent film’s fiery subject matter means India has yet to release the film there but it turned a tidy sum of $34.1million (£26million) at the box office during its small theatrical release.
And it was clearly a full-circle moment for the Skins star who has previously spoken about feeling ashamed of his Indian heritage when he was growing up.
Although the controversial nature of the film held its release back in India itself (Picture: Universal Pictures)
He said on The Kelly Clarkson Show: ‘When you’re in school in Greater London, it’s not the coolest I’m trying what I can to not show that part, going into films like Slumdog Millionaire and doing all these kind of movies.
‘I realised actually that with the first movie I’m going to direct, I’m not going to double down, I’m going to triple down on culture.’
These huge wins forthe action-thriller genre comes alongside wider victories for all of South Asian cinema as seen at the 2023 Oscars.
Telegu blockbuster RRR scored best original song for upbeat tune Naatu Naatu and became the first Indian song to win an Academy Award.
Indian composer M.M. Keeravaani and lyricist Chandrabose accepted the award with a touching speech about just how significant this moment was.
Naatu Naatu made Oscars history (Picture: Getty)
M.M. shared his rendition of the Carpenter’s Top of the World with his new lyrics: ‘There was only one wish on my mind … ‘RRR’ has to win, pride of every Indian, and must put me on the top of the world.’
Indian cinema is not the only area that has seen a huge boost in recent years.
In 2022, Joyland became the first Pakistani film in Cannes Film Festival. It was only up from there after landing a place on the Oscars shortlist and seeing huge names such as Riz Ahmed and Malala Yousafzai come on board as executive producers.
Much like Monkey Man, Joyland – which follows the story of trans starlet Biba (Alina Khan) – struggled to take off in Pakistan after trouble with the censorship board.
Joyland proves this shift in South Asian cinema is moving beyond just India (Picture: Everett/REX/Shutterstock)
In a social media post discussing why he chose to join the project, the Sound of Metal star said: ‘You might hear a lot of talk about how Joyland is a groundbreaking film. And it is.
‘First Pakistani film to get into Cannes Film Festival, the first to win all these awards across the world, the first queer love story to be released in Pakistan, and the first to make an impact like this,’ he said.
He then went onto praise the film’s ‘amazing storytelling, writing, acting, and artistry.’
As filmmakers continue to fight against censorship in their home countries, South Asian creatives make their mark at awards ceremonies, and global audiences discover whole new perspectives on the action-thriller genre – it looks like the expansion of South Asian cinema has only just started.
Kill is available to watch in cinemas now.
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