The interplay between reality and illusion, namely that of a filmmaker and his invented characters, is the theme of this laid-back comedy. We see it early on in a series of screen tests, in which the actresses at hand deliver the line, “Why does my heart go boom boom?” and receive pointers and questions from the offscreen director. The film they are auditioning is of the melodramatic variety. Soon, we see some of the actual scenes as they are filmed; for example, a dramatically lit, smoke-filled interior of some sort of saloon, populated by gangsters. Crucially, in these scenes we also see both the illusion and its limits—the scene itself and the crew surrounding it. 

Though we never learn too much about the plot of the movie project, the creation has consequences for its creator. Director Rajat Kapoor stars as the melodrama’s writer/director, RK, and he also plays its lead role, Mahboob, a romantic, upright man who is in some trouble with the wrong people. The shooting is a breeze. The crew finishes a 40-day shoot in 36 days, but trouble strikes in the editing room. The editor is unsure of how to save the film, and some of RK’s colleagues suggest that it might have been unwise of him to star in his movie. They advise RK to take a 10-day break, but during this time, Mahboob escapes from the film and into the real world. 

Kapoor quickly establishes a playful tone, as evidenced by the contrast between the wild melodrama of the film he’s making and the unforced, naturalistic dialogue between him and the crew. Our first glimpses of RK/RKAY’s themes are intriguing, and sometimes they find striking visual form, as in a scene of RK in costume, in which he looks at his face in the dressing room mirror, which signals further explorations of identity, and amusing bits of banter seem to promise further laughs. Whether or not the premise is original appears to be beside the point.

However, viewers will soon discover that this film does not have much steam beyond its central conceit. While it doesn’t crash and burn, it does fizzle and wind down. Mahboob, once he escapes, is charming and amusing enough, but his escapades in the world outside the film within the film don’t stray beyond the predictable. The director argues with him to try to convince Mahboob that he is fictional and to go back into his movie, while some of RK’s family members like the Mahboob more than RK, and so on. 

Though the film intends, to an extent, to be mind-bending, the events are never too out-of-hand. Everyone involved remains remarkably sane, and we are several steps ahead of Kapoor’s story line. Being John Malkovich and The Purple Rose of Cairo are both listed as touchstones in the press notes, but RK/RKAY, though amusing and easygoing, gives the feeling that Kapoor is struggling to catch up to his influences rather than building on their innovations—Flann O’Brien’s novel At Swim-Two-Birds, in which a man writes a novel about a novelist whose characters rebel against him, also comes to mind.