Anurag Kashyap's highly anticipated neo-noir crime thriller, Kennedy, has finally locked its release date for Indian audiences. The film is set to premiere on ZEE5 on February 20, 2026. This marks the film's first wide availability within India, following its global TVOD release across 20+ countries via Letterboxd's Video Store on December 10, 2025.
Alongside the release date announcement, ZEE5 and the film's team have unveiled a new poster, generating further excitement for the movie. The streaming platform announced the premiere on social media, stating, "Darker, deadlier, and undeniably Kashyap. The world-celebrated story of Kennedy is finally coming home on ZEE5". Kashyap himself echoed this sentiment, sharing the poster and release date with the same caption.
Kennedy boasts a stellar cast, with Rahul Bhat and Sunny Leone in leading roles. The film also features Mohit Takalkar, Abhilash Thapliyal, and Megha Burman in key roles, with Aamir Aziz making a special appearance.
The film is produced by Umesh Kumar Bansal, Ranjan Singh, Akshay Thakker, and Kabir Ahuja, and presented by Zee Studios and Good Bad Films.
Kennedy is a dark and atmospheric thriller that tells the story of Uday Shetty, an insomniac ex-cop, also known as Kennedy, who is presumed dead but continues to operate within a corrupt system. He secretly seeks redemption while navigating a web of high-rung socio-political nexus with buried secrets. Sunny Leone plays the role of Charlie. Aamir Aziz appears as a stage artist whose politically charged poetry thematically connects the narrative.
The film has already garnered international acclaim, premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023 during the Midnight Screenings section. It has since been showcased at numerous global film festivals, including the Sydney International Film Festival, the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (South Korea), the Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival (Switzerland), and the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, among others. The Indian premiere took place at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in 2023, receiving a standing ovation.
Anurag Kashyap wrote Kennedy during the lockdown and shot it across the nights of Mumbai in a tight 30-day schedule. The film's haunting background score, recorded in Prague with the Prague Philharmonic Choir, adds to the immersive experience.
Notably, Kennedy will skip a theatrical release in India, arriving directly on the OTT platform ZEE5. The reason behind this decision has not been revealed.
Kennedy marks the third collaboration between Kashyap and Rahul Bhat, following Ugly (2013) and Dobaaraa (2022).