Dilli Kaand as the name suggests somewhat means – a conspiracy in Delhi. However the core of this film is loosely based on the Nirbhaya gang rape incident that occurred about a decade ago. That is just the first part of the story.
Much has been written about the Nirbhaya incident about what is the background and the torture that girl had to face and then the court proceedings and so on. What the debutante director Kritik Kumar has attempted is that the nature of power games played in the capital city of India.
Therefore the film’s story can be broken into two parts. As regards to the first part, it is Kaashvi Kanchan who hogs the limelight with her cheerful and chirpy college student. She has displayed a variety of emotions that of a loving daughter of her parents, a dedicated college student and then her individuality that of a student who falls in love with her college mate. Kaashvi fits well into that part and holds promise as an upcoming actress.
It is in the second half that the director falters with such an interesting topic that of power play and the subject of political conspiracy. With such an open topic he could have steered it into an engrossing game of politics and opportunism. Without dissecting into the core of the second half, it is Preetika Chauhan and the inspector in charge of the case who stand out with their performances. Though there were several instances where the Senior journalist almost commands the police officer as to the investigation into the case.
The repeated scenes with Rajesh Singh as the minister meeting the press on the stairs in a single location appear unrealistic, whereas the interesting parts were the interlude with the lady Chief Minister of the state held some realism hinting at a leader of the current opposition.
Overall Dilli Kaand has turned out as just a below average fare, yet it deserves an additional star for the two lady protagonists Kaashvi and Preetika. As the title suggests, we missed watching any conspiracy.
Cast of Dilli Kaand:
Virendra Saxena as Kaashvi’s father
Kaashvi Kanchan as Alishika
Sam Sundesa as Sameer (Kaashvi’s boyfriend)
Preetika Chauhaan as Riya Batra (TV News anchor, journalist)
Reem Khan as Kaashvi’s mother
Amit Shukla as Inspector Pandey
Rajesh Singh as Home minister
Mona Mathew as Chief Minister
Shashank Sethi
Shahbaz Baweja
Credits of Dilli Kaand:
Banner- Fashion Parade Films
Producer, Director, Writer – Kritik Kumar
Music Director- Shashank Ranjan
DOP – Mohsin & Shakeel Rehan Khan
Art Director- Pawan Swaroop & Rajesh Pandey,
Lyrics- Nikhilesh Negi
Singers – Javed Ali, Aditya Narayan, Harshit Saxena, Aaman Trikha, Harshit Chauhan, Shashank Ranjan
BOLLYWOOD RETRO GEMS:
Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1972)