Kanni Movie Review
Rating: ⭐️⭐️1/2
Plot: Kalyani, a small town girl, is counting her days in UK before her Visa expires. She comes up with a tacky plan to secure permanent residency with the help of her friends.
Written and Directed By: Sameer Joshi
Cinematography: Amol Salunkhe
Music: Agnel Roman, Vishal Shelke
Editing: Aniket Kale
Starring: Hruta Durgule, Shubhankar Tawde, Rishi Manohar, Vallari Viraj, Ajinkya Raut
Kanni Movie Review:
A woman centric film releasing on International Women’s Day is quite an invitation for all the women to flock towards cinema halls but that is only possible if the film is entertaining enough. With Laapata Ladies having a strong word of mouth, Kanni already faces this fear of losing out on a golden opportunity. Written and Directed By Sameer Joshi, Kanni, is a lighthearted drama with Hruta Durgule playing the central character.
Kalyani (Hruta Durgule) is an illustrator staying in London. She is on the cusp of losing her UK Visa if she doesn’t find a permanent job. Also the pressure from her family to get married to an Indian boy is on the rise as well. In the middle of all this, she faces a rejection from the hiring company and also one of her online meet & greet with a possible husband is gatecrashed by her friends.
Failing to absorb all the pressure, she comes up with a plan. Somya (Shubhankar Tawde), a mathematician and one of Kalyani’s friends, has developed an app which tracks your vitals to check if you are really in love. With the help of this app, Kalyani decides to trap a British citizen and get married to him. This would help her get the permanent residency that she wants and would also shut down her family’s constant bickering.
How her plan pans out and if she really marries the boy or is something else going to gatecrash her life is what the film is all about. Even though the logline seems quite interesting, the narrative unfolds in a very haphazard manner. The characters are so unhinged and random that it stops making sense after a point. Also you are forced to mock it because the slapstick treatment never really picks up.
The pacing is quite slow and a lot of scenes feel forced. Some dialogues really hit hard but some are outright terrible and unnatural. The weightage of comedy in a Rom-Com generally decides the fate of the film and Kanni falls short of that. The comedy scenes don’t work almost always. The emotional tension on the other hand holds up well in the climax.
The star performances are decent. Ajinkya Raut shines more than anyone else. He plays an NRI who Kalyani traps into marrying and he aces it. The accent and the shyness is on point. Hruta Durgule’s act is also commendable but she fails to shine throughout and has her dull moments. Shubhankar Tawde’s comic timing is not used to its full potential. Other supporting cast in the form of Rishi Manohar and Vallari Viraj also gives interesting performances.
The song Navroba is quite catchy and one to remember. The background music and the sound design could have been a lot more interesting to pump some life into the bland scenes. The camerawork and editing compliment the film quite well. But the overall film still feels 10-15 minutes longer than needed.
All in all, Kanni is an average execution of an interesting premise. Watch it if you like mindless Marathi Rom-Coms and central characters taking unhinged decisions without even giving them a thought. One time watch if time permits.
Read more film reviews of Marathi Movies here
