This Indian Movie Has Action So Good That ‘John Wick’s Director Wants In

For lovers of action films, the Keanu Reeves starrer John Wick is the gold standard. So when a film impresses its director, Chad Stahelksi, that must be work to be held in high regard. Kill, an action movie out of India, has managed this feat.

Directed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, Kill is a revenge-driven action flick that takes place aboard a train. It stars Lakshya and Raghav Juyal, along with Tanya Maniktala, Abhishek Chauhan, Ashish Vidyarthi, and Harsh Chhaya. The cinematography is by Rafey Mehmood, editing by Shivkumar V. Panicker, and it is written by Bhat. It is produced by Karan Johar and Apoorva Mehta’s Dharma Productions (Baahubali, Brahmāstra) and Guneet Monga and Achin Jain’s Sikhya Entertainment (Academy Award winner The Elephant Whisperers).

As per a recent announcement, John Wick director Chad Stahelski and his 87Eleven Entertainment will be producing an English-language remake of Kill, to be distributed by Lionsgate pictures. In a statement, Stahelski praised the film for being one of “the most vivid, wild, and creative action movies” he’s seen recently and wished for a wider audience to see what director Bhat has pulled off.

What is the movie Kill about?

In Kill, NSG commandos Amrit (Lakshya) and Viresh (Chauhan) board a train bound for New Delhi in which Amrit’s girlfriend Tulika and her family are traveling. Tulika is returning home from an engagement that she was forced into while Amrit was away on a mission. While the lovers plan to find a way to be together, the train comes under attack from a local gang of knife-wielding dacoits led by a ruthless Fani (Juyal). With his girl under threat and a train full of passengers to save, Amrit springs into action, which leads to a shocking escalation of events that neither party were prepared for.

Kill boasts a couple of firsts

Kill is a non-stop adrenaline-fueled train ride of blood, gore, and violence unlike anything we’ve seen coming out of India before. Its action sequences, choreographed by Korean action director Se-yeong Oh of Snowpiercer and Avengers: Age of Ultron fame, are inventive, sharp, and make great use of the confined space and isolation that a train journey provides. Kill also boasts an excellent performance by its cast, especially Raghav Juyal, who plays Fani, the leader of the antagonist gang.

At the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023, Kill was the runner-up in the Midnight Madness section, but it also has a couple of firsts to its name. It’s touted as the most violent film to come out of India, and it is the first Hindi-language film to have been acquired for distribution by a Hollywood studio.

Lionsgate, in association with Roadside Attractions, will release the film in the United States and the U.K. on July 4, 2024, a day prior its release in India.