Kaanchi
Year: 2014
Director: Subhash Ghai
Cast: Mishti, Kartik Tiwari, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Mithun Chakraborty, Rishi Kapoor

Time and tide wait for no one; not even for Subhash Ghai, Bollywood’s self-proclaimed showman and a proven dream merchant who launched so many star careers and blockbusters! The last good movie he made was Taal and that came in 1999. Since then it has been a downhill ride with duds such as Yaadein, Kisna and Yuvraaj.  Does his new film Kaanchi buck this downtrend?

What’s the plot?

Ensconced in the northern hills is a small, beautiful village housing ex-army soldiers’ families. A high-placed politician (Mithun Chakraborty) and his industrialist brother (Rishi Kapoor) are trying to buy off these villagers’ lands to expand their business empire.  Kaanchi (Mishti) is a spunky tomboyish young girl living in that village with her family. Her fiancé (Kartik Tiwari) is an activist opposing the unfair land-grab deals. The industrialist’s obsessive son falls for Kanchi and when she spurns his advances, he tramples down her boyfriend under his car. Of course, this murder is not just an act of jealousy; it has been carried out with the blessings of the crooked politician.

The enraged village belle swears vendetta and comes to Mumbai to track down and destroy the powerful politician and his clan. Except for a childhood friend, who is now a cop, (Chandan Roy Sanyal), she has no one in Mumbai. Will she succeed in her mission?

What’s hot?

·        Few sweeping visuals of beautiful mountains and valleys!

·        Rishi Kapoor and Chandan Roy Sanyal try their best to deliver good performances.

What’s not?

·        The tacky plot tries to mix contemporary socio-political happenings with a Female Rambo revenge drama. It succeeds at nothing!

·        As a director, Subhash Ghai now seems like a gramophone record that has stuck at one point.

·        Ghai’s new find Mishti looks good and at times, reminds of RTGM-fame Mandakini . But her acting leaves a lot to desire. Her attempted emotional outbursts are screechy shouting fests!

·        Kartik Tiwari, too fails to impress in his Action-Lover boy act.

·        Mithun Chakraborty gets a bad getup and worse dialogues.

.        Music, once a major plus-point of Ghai's movies, is ordinary.

Verdict

Kaanchi is the latest addition to the now ever-increasing list of Ghai’s bad misses!

Rating

1.5 stars