Love, Honour, & Generational Beef: 'Kaansya' Reimagines A Shakespearean Tragedy In Haryana

Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida is not so much a love story as it is a cautionary tale about its consequences. Set during the Trojan War, it’s a cynical, almost brutal take on love, betrayal, and the futility of conflict. It follows the doomed romance of Troilus, a Trojan prince, and Cressida, a woman who is handed over to the Greeks as part of a political bargain. Their love, which starts with grand declarations, soon unravels as betrayal and shifting allegiances take creep in. It’s a story of war and desire, but also one of disillusionment, with no real heroes and no true villains but people trapped in their own flawed desires and political machinations.

Aditya Watts’ debut feature, 'Kaansya', transposes this tale into the world of Haryana’s traditional 'akhadas' (wrestling pits), replacing Greek and Trojan warriors with rival wrestling families. The film follows Sonam, the wife of an esteemed akhada owner, who leaves her husband for Randeep, the son of a rival family. Their elopement reignites old hostilities, pulling both families into a spiral of conflict. Much like Shakespeare’s protagonists, Sonam and Randeep are puppets in a larger game, with their love turning dramatically political.

The title 'Kaansya', meaning 'bronzed', suggests both the physicality of wrestlers and a metaphorical idea; perhaps of something hardened but not unbreakable. The film delves into themes of loyalty, power, and the personal cost of family honour. Just as kingdoms once fought over righteousness, territory, and legacies, these families navigate their own war, bound by a similar sense of inherited conflict.

Aditya's first encounter with Shakespeare's play in 2014 left a profound impression on him, particularly its depth and exploration of human desires. He was struck by its raw, primal nature, which stripped away the superficiality of social dynamics. The wrestling culture of Haryana immediately felt like a natural fit for the adaptation, as its akhada traditions uphold a strict hierarchy and code of honour, mirroring the world Shakespeare crafted in Troilus and Cressida.

Watts, an alumnus of Whistling Woods International, co-wrote the screenplay with Aditya Dabas. The project took four years to complete, facing various production hurdles, before premiering at the Cinevesture International Film Festival in Chandigarh. It was also an official selection at Spain’s Girona Film Festival. The cast includes Vaarun Bhagat, Lakshya Goel, Kritika Pande, and Saahhil Sethi, with performances that navigate the tensions between love, duty, and ambition.

With this homegrown imagining of the Shakespearean tale, the filmmaker illustrates how one story can be true across centuries and geographies; as if history is just a reshaping of the same old script. Love entangles itself with betrayal, honour demands sacrifice, and conflicts; whether waged with swords or through generations of silent grudges follow an almost inevitable course that ends in ruins. The film serves as a reminder that human nature, for all its complexities, is strikingly repetitive, as if we are hardwired to walk familiar paths, doomed or destined to relive the same battles.

Follow Aditya here and watch the trailer for the film below:

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