The trailer of AK vs AK, the upcoming Hindi film starring actor Anil Kapoor and director Anurag Kashyap, was released by Netflix on Monday.
Based on a fictionalised feud between the director and the actor, Kashyap and Kapoor star as themselves in the film, which revolves around the search for Kapoor’s daughter and actor Sonam Kapoor, who is kidnapped by Kashyap after Kapoor insults him during a talk show.
Before the trailer was released, Kashyap and Kapoor engaged in a verbal spat on social media. It started on Sunday when Kapoor congratulated the team of Netflix’s web series Delhi Crime for winning the Emmy Award on Twitter. Kashyap retweeted it and took a dig at Kapoor for his Oscars nomination. What followed was a war of words between Kashyap and Kapoor through a series of tweets, which proved to be a gimmick that set the premise of the battle between the two shown in the film.
Nice to see some deserving people get international recognition. Waise, aapka Oscar kidhar hain? No? Achha… nomination? 😜 https://t.co/P2ZuiPOUWP
— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) December 6, 2020
The film will be helmed by Vikramaditya Motwane and also stars Sonam Kapoor and Boney Kapoor, Kapoor’s elder brother, in cameo appearances.
The trailer features Kashyap and Kapoor taking jibes at each other. While Kashyap brings up the topic of nepotism in, Kapoor calls Kashyap the “biggest fraud in the industry”.
On Monday, Kashyap released his version of the trailer, that said that cinema is a director’s medium and not that of an actor’s, taking potshots at Kapoor’s stardom.
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On the same day, Kapoor released his version of the trailer, calling it “real narrative” focusing on his stardom.
The trailer triggered discussions from social media users, who have been quick to criticise the film. A user called Anil Chopra called out at Kapoor, who wears a military uniform in the trailer, for using derogatory language while in uniform.
An Air Commodore of IAF speaking such language in uniform. Badly depicted. https://t.co/bFIldNjgbU
— Aviator Anil Chopra (@Chopsyturvey) December 8, 2020
Another user called Vineet Jindal, who claims to be a lawyer, political analyst, and social activist, according to his Twitter handle, said Kapoor using derogatory language while wearing the uniform of an Air Force personnel was “not acceptable”.
I am a big fan of @AnilKapoor but this is not acceptable. Respect of uniform first. #AKVsAKTrailer https://t.co/XNhIkKRE1O
— Vineet Jindal (@vineetJindal19) December 8, 2020
Associate editor of ABP News Neeraj Rajput pointed out that it was mandatory to take permission from the Ministry of Defence for making any drama, documentary, or film related to the armed forces.
Hope CBFC notice it before giving censor certificate as now mandatory to take permission from MoD too for any military related film, documentary or OTT drama#AKvsAK https://t.co/nQOkXsrsW5
— Neeraj Rajput (@neeraj_rajput) December 8, 2020
Some social media users criticised Netflix for churning out inferior content, following the streaming giant’s recently-released reality series The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives, which was called out for being uninteresting and shallow.
After the flop show of #FabulousLivesofBollywoodWives this #AKvsAK is one more garbage on @NetflixIndia Lots of critics says that @NetflixIndia is a dumping ground for bollywood shit they making nowadays. 🤨 @shrishtiarya @annavetticad @_sabanaqvi @tarunkatial @SumitkadeI https://t.co/NHljEVVMT3
— Saima Khan (@OMGitsSaima) December 7, 2020
After watching #AKvsAK Trailer. Realised what Netflix is for Bollywood filmmakers…. pic.twitter.com/4CWwGudxrp
— Haa (@sumitshukla1995) December 7, 2020
AK vs AK is set to premiere on Netflix on December 24.
