Kaanchi Review

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars (Two and Half stars)

Star cast: Kartik Tiwari (Kartik Aaryan), Indrani Chakraborty (Mishti), Rishi Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Rishab Sinha, Chandan Roy Sanyal

Director: Subhash Ghai

What’s Good: The film has good cinematography as the mountainous terrains are a treat to the eyes. Also the film’s lead Mishti, Bong beauty looks fresh and is captured beautifully in every frame.

What’s Bad: The script is not strong enough to make this film a riveting one. There are no stellar performances to look forward to. Also the music or the background score do not really help to pick up the film at any point.

Loo break: Quite a lot

Watch or Not?: Kaanchi is a film that may entertain you if you are a fan of Subhash Ghai films. The film has typical Ghai film elements with a small town feel and yet the extravagance of the elite. The film could also serve as an inspiration to girls who want to bring a change in society but only in a cinematic manner. Watch it if you have ample of free time!

User Rating: 

Kaanchi starts off as a simplistic story of a young girl bred in the mountains of Uttarakhand. It is her spirit to take on the corrupt and sinful system that changes the course of the story. Kaanchi is a riveting journey of a naïve yet spoilt village girl who is the heartbeat of her town Koshampa. Resisting the unjust ways of the powerful, it is the essential David vs Goliath tale. It is all about one girl’s conviction to bring a change.

In this bad world of power and politics, will Kaanchi stand a chance to delve into the truth and fight for justice?

Kaanchi Review: Script Analysis

The story is well woven but still does not manage to engage you into it completely. The first half is comparatively slow and picks up pace only after the unexpected twist pre-interval. The plot is a hotch potch of ideas of reformation and revolution and a love story to begin with. It gets highly predictable at certain points. Even though the film has minute elements that may remind one of Ghai’s previous works such as Taal there is nothing even as close to it. The climax disappoints you with more of an idealistic approach rather than a practical one.

The dialogues are a saving grace only for the antagonists. The notion of an outgoing girl using cuss words is overtly highlighted as the film’s lead character Kaanchi aka Sigdi is swearing more often than delivering any other dialogues.

Kaanchi Review: Star Performances

Lead actress and debutante Mishti gives an average performance. She fails to shine in scenes with potential. Even though Mishti’s fragile beauty is captured well on the canvas, her acting prowess does not lift up as much. Doing an Aishwarya Rai of Taal, she lacks the charm.

The male lead Kartik on the other hand puts up a decent show.

The real deals in the film are the veteran actors Rishi Kapoor and Mithoon Chakraborty who don the grey shades with a much required persona.

Also Chandan Roy Sanyal in a slightly comic yet serious role is the limelight of the second half.

Kaanchi Review: Direction, Editing and Screenplay

Right from the first frame one realizes it is a Subhash Ghai film. Ghai’s love for mountains and romanticization of the rural world is evident in this one too. Also a usual Ghai film seems to highlight the disparity between the rich and the poor, similar as that of Pardes and Taal. Not to miss, Subhash Ghai also uses his previous muse Mahima Choudhary in a blink and miss performance in a song.

While one may give points to Sudhir Choudhary for cinematography for capturing the ever green environment, the same cannot be said about the editing. There are scenes where one could have expected a tighter editing as there are portions that seem a tad bit prolonged.

Ghai manages to juggle between the hilly terrain and an unnerving Mumbai setting meticulously. What is also disappointing is the presence of stereotypes such as the co-relation between youth power and a rock band performance that is supposed to promote the idea of revolution.

Kaanchi Review: The Last Word

The film is a love revenge saga that may entice you only into phases. While the music is complete downer, there is less to look forward to in this film. If you are a person high on optimism, this film may impress you with its positivity and underlined message. Kaanchi could have been Ghai’s Rang De Basanti had the script been strong enough. I am going with 2.5/3 for Kaanchi!

Kaanchi Trailer

Kaanchi releases on 25th April, 2014.

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