Powerless (film)
| Katiyabaaz | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Deepti Kakkar Fahad Mustafa |
| Produced by | Globalistan Films ITVS |
| Story by | Fahad Mustafa |
| Starring | Loha Singh Ritu Maheshwari |
| Music by |
Indian Ocean (Amit Kilam and Rahul Ram) Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum Varun Grover (lyrics) Gingger Shankar (background score) |
| Cinematography | Maria Trieb Amith Surendran Fahad Mustafa |
| Edited by |
Namrata Rao Maria Trieb |
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Release date
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Running time
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84 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi/English |
| Budget | ₹1 crore (US$160,000) |
Katiyabaaz (English : Electricity thief however electricity thief is way too simple to explain the pun in the hindi word Katiyabaaz) is a 2014 Indian Hindi documentary film directed by Deepti Kakkar and Fahad Mustafa about the problem of power theft in Kanpur. Released in India on 22 August 2014, the film is shot in Kanpur city, which faces long power cuts, giving rise to the profession of Loha Singh, a local electricity thief or katiyabaaz in localities like Chaman Ganj. He provides illegal electricity connections to people, while Ritu Maheshwari, MD of KESCo, Kanpur Electricity Supply Company, tries to tackle the issue of rampant electricity theft.
The film was premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival 2013 and later won the Best Film in the India Gold Section at the 15th Mumbai Film Festival. At the 61st National Film Awards the film won the ward for Best Investigative Film.Katiyabaaz premiered on American television on Independent Lens - PBS on 3 November 2014.
Katiyabaaz is a story of Kanpur's electricity crisis, resulting in loadshedding. Power cuts of up to 15 hours a day, cause great trouble to residents and factories alike. This gap in supply and demand becomes the bedrock of local electricity thieves like Loha Singh, who provide illegal power connection to people, by plugging into official supply through live wires. However such free connection causes heavy financial losses to the power supply company, whose MD struggles to fight the menace of power theft, and local fixers. The film follows Loha Singh, an electricity thief, and Ritu Maheshwari an official with Kanpur Electricity Supply Company.
The film was made on a small budget of ₹1 crore (US$160,000) and had music by fusion rock band Indian Ocean who composed and sang the song Kanpoora for the film. The film was shot over a period of nearly two years, with a crew of 10-12 people. Instead of staying at hotels, the crew rented a bungalow and furnished it, which was economical.
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