period drama
A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...
Lalit Parimoo
Lalit Parimoo is an Indian film and television actor. He is best known for playing the scientist "Dr. Jaikaal" in the superhero series ''Shaktimaan'' (1997). Besides Parimoo has acted in a number of Bollywood films, including '' Haider'' (2014 ...
and Nareshpal Singh Chauhan. The film was co-produced by Shobha Devi and presented by
Anup Jalota
Anup Jalota, (born 29 July 1953) is an Indian singer, musician and actor, best known for his contributions to the bhajan and ghazal genre of Indian music. He is popularly known as the ''Bhajan Samraat'' ().Vijaydan Detha, a folk-story writer from
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
, India, whose stories have been adapted into many films including
Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the "Padishah, Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has Shah Rukh K ...
's '' Paheli''. ''Kaanchli'', whose theme is social welfare, tells the story of a strong, self-reliant woman's struggle for survival.
The film was released on 7 February 2020 at Carnival Cinemas.
Plot
The film is based on a story of folklorist Vijadan Detha. Kishnu is married to a beautiful woman named Kajri, towards whom Thakur, a resident of the village, has bad intentions. Thakur asks his right-hand man Bhoja to get Kajri for him. Kajri, however, is loyal to her husband and one day attacks Thakur in self-defence. Rather than praising her, Kishnu warns Kajri to not behave in this manner with Thakur again. Heartbroken and stubborn, Kajri tries to get a reaction from her husband by entering into an extramarital affair with another man, Bhoja. Bhoja falls in love with Kajri, which gives her the idea to test Kishnu using Bhoja just to see her husband's reaction.
Cast
* Sanjay Mishra as Bhoja
* Shikha Malhotra as Kajri
*
Lalit Parimoo
Lalit Parimoo is an Indian film and television actor. He is best known for playing the scientist "Dr. Jaikaal" in the superhero series ''Shaktimaan'' (1997). Besides Parimoo has acted in a number of Bollywood films, including '' Haider'' (2014 ...
as Thakur
* Nareshpal Singh Chouhan as Kishnu
Production
Development
The official announcement of the film was made in June 2018. Dedipya Joshii had been working on the script since 2008. After reading "Kenchuli" by Vijaydan Detha, he decided to make a film based on it and started writing the first draft. Dedipya was satisfied with his fourth draft and sent a copy of it to Detha, who invited Joshii to his house in Borunda,
Jodhpur
Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...
. Joshii stayed with Detha for few days, getting to know him personally. Detha happily gave Joshii the rights of his story '"Kenchuli"' with a compliment saying after reading the script and talking over the phone with Joshii, he had assumed he was older and experienced in filmmaking. After meeting Joshii, Detha was surprised to see an enthusiastic young man. As soon as Joshii returned to Mumbai, he started working to produce the story into a feature film. After a few days, Detha wrote an affectionate, hopeful letter to Joshii saying:
Casting
Joshii first cast Shikha Malhotra as Kajri and then approached the in-demand actor Sanjay Mishra to play Bhoja, who accepted the offer. Later, Joshii cast Narespal Singh Chouhan as Kishnu and
Lalit Parimoo
Lalit Parimoo is an Indian film and television actor. He is best known for playing the scientist "Dr. Jaikaal" in the superhero series ''Shaktimaan'' (1997). Besides Parimoo has acted in a number of Bollywood films, including '' Haider'' (2014 ...
as Thakur in the film.
Filming
The
principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
of the film commenced in the November 2018 but during that time, Sanjay Mishra had to travel to the
Busan International Film Festival
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF; ), formerly the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), held annually in Haeundae District, Busan, South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festival, held fro ...
for his forthcoming film '' Kaamyaab'' and the filming schedule of ''Kaanchli'' was postponed for a month. Filming began on 7 December 2018 in the interiors of
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
, which is extremely cold at that time of the year. This led to lead female actor Shikha Malhotra having to shoot rainy scenes for the film's climax for three consecutive nights at a temperature of from 1 to 3 January 2019. Filming was completed on 4 January 2019.
Release
''Kaanchli'' had its Indian box-office release on 7 February 2020.
Awards
Cinema Aajtak Achievers Award - March 2020:
*Won – Best Debut (Female)