By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Deepti Kakkar | Fahad Mustafa
Original language title: Katiyabaaz
Country: india, united_states
Year: 2013
Running time: 80
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2466678/combined
Bruce says: “POWERLESS examines two sides of the ‘power struggle’ in Kampur, a metropolitan area of approximately three million people. Kampur has had no increase in its power supply for twenty-two years although the population has tripled during that time. Those unfamiliar with the politics of India may find this film illuminating. Others might not. For example, anyone who has read Arundhati Roy’s Power Politics will know that the filmmakers of POWERLESS have ignored the big picture; much information has been left out of the ongoing struggles for energy throughout India.
“Loha Singh is a scrappy guy of uncertain age. We see him place a rickety ladder against a pole, then climb the ladder to gain access to a nest of electrical wires. Loha makes his money by hotwiring – stealing electricity by tapping into live wires. Large portions of Kampur are made up of shantytowns where people are piled together. Many cannot afford two meals a day much less pay for electricity that, at minimum, is essential for operating pumps that access potable water.
“Mrs. Ritu Maheshwari has been recently named head of KESCO, the local power company. This position has high turnover. Her mission includes focusing on revenue, containing energy theft and improving interpersonal relationships. The issues are complex. Because of the illegal wiretappings many customers have exorbitant electrical bills they are refusing to pay; hotwiring causes frequent overloads that, in turn, create transformer fires that leave entire neighborhoods without electricity. Mrs. Ritu Maheshwari is an accomplished bureaucrat and, at first, it appears her efforts to increase revenue by containing theft might be successful. She deploys squads of workers to cut 50-60 illegal wires per day; however, the workers are attacked by street
gangs and cannot do their job.
“We see many scenes where Mrs. Ritu Maheshwari spouts the party line and we catch glimpses of her upper middle class milieu. Loha, on the other hand, continues to risk his life many times each day as he travels throughout his territory, often burning his fingers badly. He views himself as an honest man rather than a thief. Mrs. Ritu Maheshwari also views her quest in terms of restoring honesty to the community. It is clearly a stalemate. 3 cats
“(POWERLESS screened at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.)”