RK/RKAY (2021)
Black Comedy | 95 minutes
Movie Info
- Director: Rajat Kappoor
- Actors: Mallika Sherawat
- Writer: Rajat Kapoor
- Release Date: May 14th, 2021
- Genres: Black Comedy
- Country: India
- Language: Hindi & English
- Rating: Unrated
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In-Person Theater & Virtual Cinema release – see list & ticketing below (Virtual Cinema means choose an art house from anywhere in the country, and watch safely at home with an online link)
Join us for a LIVE Zoom Q&A for RK/RKAY with actor, writer and director Rajat Kapoor, and actress Mallika Sherawat, on Sunday, May 16, at 7 pm EST/4 pm PST. Registration is free HERE. Moderated by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and film programmer Robert Rosenberg, the Zoom event will allow you to ask questions directly to our guests.
Director, writer and star, Rajat Kapoor, the “godfather” of Indian independent film ( Raghu Romeo, Ankhon Dekhi), has created a charming “meta-movie” about filmmaking itself in his newest, RK/RKAY. Working in the tradition of such classics as Being John Maklovich and The Purple Rose of Cairo, with a light, markedly Indian touch, the film tells the story of a film director whose main character usurps control of the plot line, and eventually, real life.
RK is a filmmaker (played by Rajat Kapoor), making a new picture in which he also plays the lead character of Mahboob. With a high-maintenance actress as the female lead Gulabo (Mallika Sherawat), the film-within-a film is a retro tribute to the cinema of the 1960s. When shooting is finished, and the editing begins, RK has a sinking feeling that the film is not going to come together, that this time he has really screwed up. Sure enough, one afternoon RK gets a call from the editing room – something terrible has happened. Mahboob has “run away, run out of the film” and somehow has entered the real world.
Mahboob is fleeing from the film’s cartoonish killers when RK finds him (with the actor embodying both seamlessly in the same absurdist scenes) and brings him home to his wife and kids (who were hoping for Johnny Depp). Mahboob has no idea where he is from, or that he is any different from people around him. The many layers of the story – the multiple characters, unresolved plot lines, magical realism, and people in search of their destiny – all converge in this playful tale.
A portion of each ticket sale will be donated to support COVID relief efforts in India, due to the ongoing crisis there.
Reviews
“An intelligent and playful…self-reflective take on filmmaking.” – Festival Scope
“Absurdist comedy romp…totally brilliant.” – Picture This Post
“A film lover’s movie…entertaining and thought-provoking.” – Disc Dish
Awards and Festivals
Movie Showtimes
IN THEATERS
See Locations Below
Show times
CineLounge
Fremont, CA
Show times
- May 14
- 2021
VIRTUAL CINEMA
See Theaters Below
Show times
Laemmle +5
Los Angeles, CA
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- May 14
- 2021
SIE Film Center
Denver, CO
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- May 14
- 2021
Burns Court
Sarasota, FL
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- May 14
- 2021
The Flicks
Boise, ID
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- May 14
- 2021
Gene Siskel Center
Chicago, IL
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- May 14
- 2021
Cary Theatre
Cary, NC
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- May 14
- 2021
A/perture
Winston-Salem, NC
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- May 14
- 2021
Cleveland Cinematheque
Cleveland, OH
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- May 14
- 2021
The Neon
Dayton, OH
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- May 14
- 2021
Vancity
Vancouver, BC
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- May 14
- 2021
Cinema Art Bethesda
Baltimore, MD
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- May 18
- 2021
Bryn Mawr Film Institute
Bryn Mawr, PA
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- May 14
- 2021
Downing Film Center
Newburgh, NY
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- May 14
- 2021
Cinemapolis
Ithaca, NY
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- May 14
- 2021
Indie Memphis
Memphis, TN
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- May 14
- 2021
Brattle Film, Boston MA
Boston, MA
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- May 14
- 2021
Orange Stadium 25 Promenade
Orange, CA
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- May 14
- 2021
The Tull Family Theater
Sewickley, PA
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- May 14
- 2021
Gold Town
Juneau, AK
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- May 14
- 2021
Pensacola Cinema Art
Pensacola, FL
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- May 14
- 2021
Lumiere Cinema at the Music Hall
Beverly Hills, CA
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- May 14
- 2021
Cinemark Centerville 12
Washington, DC
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- May 14
- 2021
Nelson at the Tivoli Atkins
Kansas City, MO
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- June 18
- 2021
SNF Parkway Theatre
Baltimore, MD
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- June 18
- 2021