Directors: Deepti Kakkar, Fahad Mustafa
In India, electric wires supplying electricity to homes run above ground. Illegal connections and electricity theft is commonplace, and done by calling in a “katiyabaaz” who will splice up a connection to your home, by hooking a “katiya” or wire, to an existing connection.
So yes, the film is about a “katiyabaaz” but it is also about the electricity/energy crisis in Kanpur, a city in Uttar Pradesh, India. We see Loha Singh, a runt of a man, busy providing katiyas to the folks of Kanpur. Then there is Ritu Maheshwari, an IAS officer, posted as the MD of KESCO (Kanpur Electricity Supply Company) who wants to end the illegal tampering and theft of electricity.
The problem is this – there is limited electricity and too many people who want it but don’t want to pay for it. So Loha Singh and the folks of Kanpur who utilize his services see KESCO and Maheshwari as the problem, citing the corruption of the state. Adding fuel to the fire is the vote-seeking local MLA, Irfan Solanki, who “sides” with the people and opposes Ms. Maheshwari.
The Netflix synopsis of this film touts it as a battle between the CEO (Maheshwari) and a modern-day Robinhood (Loha Singh), and that comparison is wrong and extremely troubling. The “evil CEO” is an honest Government officer (a rarity in itself, in India) and the “Robinhood” is aiding people in using electricity for which they do not want to pay. Yes, there is more to it than that, and yes, all-pervading corruption is a big reason why the people of Kanpur are in this mess in the first place.
For a detailed analysis on the actual problem Katiyabaaz exposes, see this article.
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