At places, Sikandar Ka Muqaddar feels like Neeraj Pandey’s homage to Akira Kurosawa’s noir films. In Kurosawa’s films we saw the human side of both police and criminals. They came across as individuals shaped by circumstances rather than as completely black or white personalities. Certain parts of the film, especially those where Sikandar’s character is shown battling difficulties one after another, are truly depressing, leaving the viewer gasping for breath. Strangely, the realism wears off towards the climax. Perhaps the director thought he had made a film that was too heavy and hence he opted for the ending in the thriller genre. Another complaint is that by only showing Sikandar’s struggles the film becomes somewhat unbalanced. We should also have been aware of the difficulties faced by Jaswinder Singh, who gets betrayed by a failure and loses both his marriage and position due to his obsession with the diamond robbery case.
The film is slow moving and picks up pace towards the end. Plus, we’re not sure whether the non-linear storytelling works in the film’s favor or not. The constant flashbacks disturb the narrative somewhat. Sikandar’s years in the Gulf just kept on increasing. It is not shown how he survived there alone or how his wife managed to make a life for herself in his absence. These loose ends should have been smoothed out. The ending, too, is somewhat far-fetched and defies belief. The writing becomes clever by half during the climax, and that’s never a good thing.
Jimmy Shergill is wonderful as a policeman with a perfect record who lets an unsolved crime take over his life. From an upstanding, honest policeman, he turns into a deranged lunatic whose stupidity destroys lives. As mentioned earlier, we wish the director had shown Jimmy’s character’s decline in beauty in more detail. Avinash Tiwari shines as a man unnecessarily harassed by the police. He tries again and again to get his life back on track and you sympathize with his character. He is a credible actor who has once again delivered a strong performance. Tamannaah Bhatia is good as Avinash’s wife, who has many secrets of her own. Sadly, his character has not been explained in detail. Same is the case with Divya Dutta, who is playing the role of Jimmy Shergill’s long-suffering wife. She has two scenes in the film but she is seen shining in both.
Overall, the film has a lot to offer for those who like slow-paced thrillers. The acting of the cast has been exemplary. Neeraj Pandey definitely knows how to surprise the audience and Sikandar Ka Muqaddar is no exception. The film is currently streaming on Netflix.
Also see: Sikandar Ka Muqaddar: Jimmy Shergill tries to solve a robbery