Anurag Kashyap’s 'Kennedy' Starring Sunny Leone And Rahul Bhatt Gets A 7 Min Standing Ovation At Cannes Premiere

Anurag Kashyap’s highly anticipated film Kennedy starring Sunny Leone and Rahul Bhatt was screened at The Grand Lumiere Theatre during the Cannes Film Festival and received a 7 min standing ovation.

Anurag Kashyap, Sunny Leone and Rahul Bhatt during Kennedy screening at Cannes 2023.

Source : PR Handout

New Delhi: Anurag Kashyap’s highly anticipated film 'Kennedy', an essential police noir film, was finally screened at 12:15 AM, at The Grand Lumiere Theatre at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Kennedy is based on the insomniac cop who dwells in different circumstances while looking for redemption. The hype around the film has been soaring high with the film being screened on a stage as prestigious and renowned as Cannes. The Grand Lumiere Theatre is one of the most illustrious theaters in the world. It's the core theater where all the magnum red carpet events are executed and films are premiered. Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy was screened there and received a 7 min standing ovation. 

Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy is the 1st Indian film to be screened in the midnight section at The Grand Lumiere Theatre. With 'Kennedy', Kashyap returned to the Cannes Film Festival where he previously presented films such as 'Raman Raghav 2.0', 'Ugly', 'Bombay Talkies' and the two-part gangster drama 'Gangs of Wasseypur'. Anurag Kashyap has graced the film festival as a veteran filmmaker and was seen there as a chief guest and a speaker. Also, Vikramaditya Motwane, Rahul Bhatt, Sunny Leone, Shariq Patel, Ranjan Singh, Kabir Ahuja, Bhumika Tewari, Neeraj Joshi, Ashima Awasthi have joined the filmmaker at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. 

Talking about 'Kennedy' screened at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, director Anurag Kashyap said, “It's always special to show your film to the world at Cannes and it’s a lifetime moment to play at the Grand Theatre Lumiere. Kennedy is a very special film to me and extremely personal too. We have put our heart and soul into making this film. 7 mins long standing ovation from the audience has made me full of gratitude. I am very grateful and excited at the same time.”

Talking about her Cannes debut and Kennedy’s screening, actress Sunny Leone said, "I am thrilled to make my Cannes debut with Kennedy being screened here.  It's only a dream few actors get to live, and I take a lot of pride in being a part of such a prestigious event. I cannot wait to see how the global audience reacts."

Lead actor Rahul Bhatt says “Kennedy is our labor of love. The film is exciting, it keeps you gripped. And as I, along with my team, enter the coveted red carpet of Cannes and show our film to the world, I am full of gratitude for everyone, especially Anurag, who made this possible."

Talking about the same, Shariq Patel, CBO of Zee Studios added “We are thrilled to see 'Kennedy' garner a high-wattage response, here at Cannes. I thank the selection committee at Cannes for extending this opportunity to us. Having an exuberant applause at Grande Lumiere Theatre by the audience is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime surreal experience.’’

Kennedy is written and directed by Anurag Kashyap starring Rahul Bhatt and Sunny Leone. The film has been produced by Zee Studios and Ranjan Singh & Kabir Ahuja of Good Bad Films.