'Kaun Kitne Paani Mein' - Tale Of Changing Dynamics

Raja Braj convinces his son with, "Main jaat nahin, halaat manta hoon" to manipulate his way into the folds of the low-caste people in order to get water from their end. This forms the crux of the tale.

Saurabh Shukla essays Raja Braj's character with sluggish ease. It is amusing to watch; his servant, 'sevak' literally dress him up, him slouching with his lazy demeanour, drinking and basking in past glory.

Kunal Kapoor as the Rajkumar with a progressive and malleable mindset, is charming. He oscillates between a conniving son and romantic with equal grace. He romances Paro (Radhika Apte), Karu Phelwan's daughter and their on screen chemistry is palpable.

Radhika shines as Paro, but unfortunately since the tale is packed with too many issues, their romance does not get enough screen time and hence appears perfunctory.

Gulshan Grover walks through his role as Karu Phelwan. The rest of the supporting cast members are natural and you do get transported to rural Odisha.

On the technical front, the script written by director Nila Madhab Panda and Deepak Venkateshan begins on a boring note. The first act, loaded with a preachy voiceover exposition layered over 2D graphics, makes the film look amateurish. But as the narration progresses, you get involved with the characters and are hooked.

Humour is strewn sporadically in the form of rustic witty dialogues. Unfortunately, the inconsistency in the accents and the dialect maars the consistency of the flow.

With decent production values, the locales and setting look natural and are efficiently captured by Subranshu Das's cinematography.

The background score and songs merge elegantly into the tale. But it is the beautifully choreographed folk dance on the song "Rangapati, Rangapati" which stands out.

Overall, the film has the look, feel and charm of a bygone era.
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