Sikandar movie review and rating

Sikandar movie review and rating

Cast: Parzun Dastur, Sanjay Suri, R. Madhavan, Ayesha Kapur

Director: Piyush Jha

Genre: Thriller, Suspense


Synopsis

Sikandar Raza is a 14 year old schoolboy in Kashmir. Ever since his parents were killed by militants 10 years back, he has lived with his aunt and uncle, in a small town in Kashmir. All Sikandar’s desires revolve around the happiness of his foster parents, and getting the ball into the goal on the football field.

One day, on his way home from a school football match, Sikandar finds a gun lying on the path.
Despite admonishments by his newly made school friend, the 14 year old Nasreen, Sikandar picks up the gun, and thus begins a journey into the darker side of his nature.
The quiet yet strong Nasreen becomes Sikandar’s conscience keeper. She tries to dissuade him from giving in to the lure of the gun.
However, all is not what it seems. Sikandar gets embroiled further and further in situations beyond his control, and people get killed.
At first it seems that the happenings occurring alongside Sikandar’s predicament are not connected. But, as layer upon layer unravels, it becomes clear that Sikandar is the innocent victim in a game being played out between the militants, the army, the peace bartering politicians and the religious heads of the little Kashmiri town.
The pieces of the puzzle come together at the very end, leading to a shocking revelation.

Review will be out as soon as first show of Sikandar is over. Till then have patience...Bye

Update

The film attempts to be a suspense thriller under the garb of social drama. But somewhere the suspense treatment is marred with too many loopholes while the social theme is too shallow. Though it had good scope, the narrative doesn't delve deep into the history of Kashmir leaving its characters one-dimensional. With the Kashmir issue being blared up in dailies, one is expected to have a basic understanding of the political backdrop.

The film attempts to be a suspense thriller under the garb of social drama. But somewhere the suspense treatment is marred with too many loopholes while the social theme is too shallow. Though it had good scope, the narrative doesn't delve deep into the history of Kashmir leaving its characters one-dimensional. With the Kashmir issue being blared up in dailies, one is expected to have a basic understanding of the political backdrop.

Nevertheless, director Piyush Jha delivers tender moments in expressing the young boy's new-found machismo when he gets hold of the gun. He goes on to highlight how young minds are influenced with the glorified image of jehadis (militants). However, brainwashing innocent minds to killings, in lure of washing machine, sounds too far-fetched. The revelation in the pre-climax is impressive but the end leaves you craving for a lot more of conviction and clarification. The subtlety leaves you kind of flummoxed.

Somak Mukherjee's cinematography beautifully captures the serene scenic bylanes of actual Kashmir land. The pacing is slow and the editing could have been much crisper. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is soothing but Justin-Uday's background score dominated by Arabic overtones struggles too hard to gain your attention.

Performances are dramatized with unwanted accents. Parzan Dastur is decent in the title role. Ayesha Kapoor isn't bad but, at times, still seems to be in the Black hangover with her accentuated expressions and equally stressed dialogue delivery (or was her voice dubbed?). Sanjay Suri comes up with a restrained act. Arunoday Singh and Madhavan are good but don't have too much to do. (ET)