Katiyabaaz is unusual movie from directors Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar, with the lead character being played by Loha Singh who is seen at the center rendering power (electricity supply) to the people who remain powerless and cannot afford power unlike the rich and wealthy men in Kanpur. As you see the voice of Rahul Ram introducing the Kanpur city to audience, you discover a specific beauty in it. This beauty is very much contrast to the ones being portrayed by the global cities of the country but it happens to be the earthen and rustic love, which goes down deep and touches everyone.
This movie seems to embark at the right time when load shedding is one of the vital issues especially in the northern areas of the country and particularly in smaller towns and villages. Though the term load shedding  hardly exist in any Standard English dictionary but this term has been bugging people a lot in the city of Kanpur wherein you would find the power the inconstant stuff to happen. The beauty of this movie can be sensed by the audience despite the non-conclusive message at the end. The sensitivity found in this issue is incredible, wherein you have someone coming from a place with a number of load shedding cities called Ranchi dealing with this issue in Kanpur the right way.
In order to sustain in the inconsistent power supply in the industrial town called Kanpur, the movie has a character of Loha Singh, who is not less than any elite in the movie as he is the only power fixture in this place. He is known as Katiyabaaz who is known to fix different wires in the city and always seen walking with his swagger, which showcases a message that this man rules this city. And the fact is he does remains the messiah of this place, who sustain on the business of power theft in the city. The script of the movie seems unique and interesting since at no point you would find this man being shown as righteous person. He is showcased as the man who supplies power to people via his unofficial connections.
As you continue watching the movie, you would certainly going to fall in love with this man unlike the directors of the movie, who is seen risking his life to give people electricity supply. On the other hand you have Ritu Maheshwari who is a bureaucrat responsible for managing the Kanpur Electricity Supply. She is seen battling with this issue keen to transform the system, however, she faces her bad time since the system of Katiya (power theft) is present in the very fabric of the city. She really finds difficult to change the system as according to her, its simple to sign papers and work over a number of documents in her office, however, carrying out the chance on the ground level is really tough while she seems to be dealing with her lackadaisical approach.
This 84 minute movie or rather a documentary movie has a very thin plot that give no solution at the end but on the other end, the character of Loha Singh is being glorified a lot. The movie is really well shot keeping the audience tight along with having the lucid flow in it. Even if you see the problems playing within a stranger thing to you the movie simply helps in drawing the attention and thus engaging with you in an intelligent way. The directors have worked hard to shoot one of the best way showcasing the perfect anger of the mob, while the violence shown over the same is really interesting to catch up.
Katiyabaaz Review Last Words :
The movie is a perfect metaphor to life and things we see in the real life. Life is a vicious circle wherein you see the same corrupt politician getting re-elected, while the bureaucrats are then seen getting transferred and get another system to change. However, Loha Singh is still seen walking with same pride and the only understanding of electricity to supply power to people. He is often seen putting his life in danger just because he wants his city to have power all the time. Â The movie is very much different from any commercial film, which reflects the abysmal condition of Kanpur city, wherein you have power cuts for around 15 hours on a daily basis.
