Kaanchi movie review

Kaanchi movie review
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Mishti Mukherji's grand debut in a Mukta Arts film finally arrives at the theatres!

As I walked into the theatre for the first day first show I was full of hope. I had put Subhash Ghai's disasters Kisna and Yuvvraj behind me to watch Kaanchi, free from preconceived notions. The sight of Ratanlal Bagula (Chandan Roy Sanyal) right in the beginning of the film was reassuring. He is being grilled at a CBI investigation and as he sits with a pensive yet calm look Arun Roy (Adil Hussain) walks in to interrogate him about the girl who shook the system, the girl who was his friend and ally. And so, Bagula begins narrating the tale of Kaanchi -- The Unbreakable.

Kaanchi, the veiled beauty, is seen cycling on the serpentine roads in the scenic valley of Kochampa. She is beautiful and brash and whoever upsets her gets a generous helping of thappads with a side serving of gaalis. Kaanchi marches around the village wearing her late daddy's tactical belt. This darling of her village doesn't mince her words and her tactless nature worries her widowed mother. But all is forgiven because Kaanchi has her heart in the right place. She even has a lover, Binda who has been to the bada sheher.

The film has a malevolent corporate giant Kakdaa and Group, is sitting in ambush to convert Koshampa into a luxurious township. Jhumar Kakdaa (Rishi Kapoor), the sleaze-ball builder who strums on a guitar while skimpily-clad women eat chocolates around him (talk about weird fetishes) has the support of his elder brother Neta Kakdaa (whose name I just cannot place) played by Mithun Chakraborty. Neta Kakdaa is manipulative and like an orange his politics is different from what it looks like on the outside (don't blame me for that senseless metaphor, I picked it from the film.) The villagers hope for salvation at the hands of Binda, the Army wala bachcha whose motto is to -- a) fear nothing, b) do what is right and c) fight for what is right (Stick up your first three fingers as you go along)

Neta Kakdaa has an artist son, Sushant, who is not like his father or his uncle. He is a self-proclaimed 'simple nature lover'. He bumps into Kaanchi, asks her to help him get to Sunset Point and offers to pay her a thousand bucks everyday for showing him similarly gorgeous spots.(random, much?) The two continue meeting and Sushant falls for Kaanchi's saadgi. His shady uncle offers to get her abducted for his nephew but Sushant lets better sense prevail. One day at a certain scenic location by the lake, Sushant steals a kiss thus provoking Kaanchi's wrath.

A jilted Sushant who has started obsessing over Kaanchi transforms into a total bad guy and he turns Kaanchi's world upside down. Kaanchi is determined to fight Sushant and also corruption on the side (cant get into details, spoilers!) and the rest of the narrative is how Kaanchi shakes the system.