Kennedy actor Rahul Bhat did not sleep properly for months during Anurag Kashyap’s film prep: I had to shed all vanity

Rahul Bhat, who impressed with his role in Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy, also spoke about ‘engineered’ visibility, while affirming slowness is not failure

Rahul Bhat in and as Kennedy

Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy, featuring Rahul Bhat and Sunny Leone in the lead roles, is finally out on OTT. The movie released directly on Zee5 (which can be streamed with your OTTplay Premium subscription). The male actor, who carries the film on his shoulder, has opened up about what it took from him as an actor during a conversation with Variety India. He also discussed the changing trend and how fame tends to be manufactured in today’s times. Here’s everything he shared…

What did Rahul Bhat say about working in Kennedy?

While confessing that it was tough to take on the role of Kennedy, Rahul shared, “I had to shed all vanity. It needed subtraction, not addition. I didn’t sleep properly for months.” The actor had to train for nearly four hours, on top of it. This led his body to enter a state of fatigue and restless energy. “That state can be dangerous for an actor. I had to contain that energy very carefully,” he said about prepping for Kennedy.

What does Rahul Bhat feel about manufactured fame?

Claiming that the Hindi film ecosystem rewards narrative control as PR builds perception and algorithms reward frequency over depth, Bhat is assured that visibility today is engineered. “If you don’t participate in that machinery, you move slower. But slowness is not failure. It’s just a different rhythm,” he stated.

“I’m an actor, not a player. Give me a script and I’ll act. Don’t ask me to manufacture stories about myself or give motivational gyaan about how great I am. I can’t ‘play’ Rahul Bhat,” Bhat shared, while claiming that his PR team thinks he is ‘bad’ at the game. The actor assures that his interest lies in reading books and watching cinema rather than presenting himself as a fake persona. “I don’t know how to be fake and present a curated life. I have nothing against people who do it well. I just can’t,” he signed off.

Kennedy FAQs:

Q: Where can I watch the movie Kennedy in India?

A: As of February 20, 2026, Kennedy is available for streaming exclusively on ZEE5 (OTTplay Premium). The film skipped a traditional theatrical release in India, opting for a direct-to-digital premiere on this platform.

Q: Why was the release of Kennedy delayed for nearly three years?

A: Despite a successful world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2023, Kennedy's release was stalled due to financial struggles at the backing studio and the exit of key executives who had initially supported the project. It eventually found its home on ZEE5 after clearing these distribution hurdles.

Q: How long is the runtime of the movie Kennedy?

A: The official runtime of Kennedy as certified by the CBFC, is 2 hours, 28 minutes, and 54 seconds.

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