BOTTOM LINE
Blunder Beyond Repair
RATING
1.5/5
CENSOR
U/A, 2h 30m
What Is the Film About?
Sanjay Rajkot, a king from a royal family, is sought after by a stubborn cop, Prakash, a right hand man of a crooked politician, Pradhan. After unexpectedly losing a loved one, he heads to Mumbai to meet three organ recipients, where he crosses paths with Pradhan and his pampered son Arjun again. When Arjun dies in a freak accident, Pradhan locks horns with Sanjay.
Performances
When Salman Khan himself claims he’s a non-actor, you better trust it in the case of Sikandar. He just doesn’t bother to flex his muscles, lacks any kind of agility with his body language and struggles to distract the viewer from the pettiness of the script. Rashmika Mandanna is akin to a piece of furniture in the film and grins too much for comfort (not that we expected anything different).
Sathyaraj is merely asked to be the uni-dimensional mean guy who shouts and gives dhamkis to the hero time and again. Kajal Aggarwal bags one of the better roles in the film, while Kishore has nothing much to do. One of the bigger disappointments is the reduction of Sharman Joshi as a loyal sidekick. Prateik Babbar, much like the rest, has a pointless one-note role of a spoilt brat.
Analysis
Sikandar, an ideally timed festival release, is a crucial film for its lead actor, Salman Khan and director AR Murugadoss to reassert their authority among audiences after a series of debacles. Though the promos and songs have done little to excite the viewers prior to its release, both of them have weathered greater storms in the past and bounced back stronger.
The film, though hardly boasts any elements one expects out of a crowd-pleasing fare, rectifies a major issue across Salman’s recent releases – there’s no mindless celebration of the star, and the actor is generally in service of the story (which is unsurprisingly weak). The script, expectedly, is tailored to accommodate the strengths of its lead, but it is bound by a decent emotional core, to begin with.
The royal backdrop for Sikandar is apt for a star vehicle, where a king, Sanjay Rajkot (a.k.a Rajasaab, Sikandar) is pitted against a crooked politician,n Pradhan. The conflict is triggered when Sanjay rescues a woman from Arjun, a notorious son of a Mumbai-based politician, Pradhan. After a series of unexpected deaths in their lives, Sanjay is keen on making amends, while Pradhan bays for his blood.
While Sikandar doesn’t fully realise its potential and stretches its idea to the point of boredom, it begins with some promise. The team finds a smart way to acknowledge the age gap between its lead stars. Salman (as Sanjay) is introduced as a king with a heart of gold who is married to Saisri (Rashmika) and gives her all the love in the world but doesn’t have much time for her.
In an out-of-the-box introduction sequence, Murugadoss uses a mob to establish the influence of Sanjay in his region when a cop lands at his palace to arrest him. Two issues haunt him – a physical banter with the spoilt son of an influential politician and a subordinate’s disturbing link to a terrorist attack in Punjab. In a bid to heal from a personal tragedy, Sanjay heads to Mumbai.
As the action shifts from Rajkot to Mumbai, three subplots unfold simultaneously involving as many transplant recipients. Apart from a direct tussle with a politician, the ‘king’ assumes the role of a messiah again – taking on a conservative father-in-law in Matunga, a filthy rich industrialist in Dharavi, fighting air pollution and shielding a young girl from a toxic boyfriend later.
In between scenes where Sanjay is glorified to great heights, a few action sequences are in place to appeal to the action junkies (where a lazy-looking Salman relies on slow motion more than athleticism). While the first hour is more or less a mixed bag, where Murugadoss relies on emotion more than action (yet it doesn’t land), Sikandar loses its direction completely post-intermission.
Sikandar fails to capitalise on any of its merits and deepen the conflict. Apart from Salman’s presence, there’s hardly any reason to invest in the film, which appears to have been shot hurriedly to continue the star’s release sentiment with Eid. Everything is handed over to the lead star. Sanjay is never challenged, and he resolves every issue at the drop of a hat.
The antagonist, a bureaucrat, is a typical caricature who keeps giving warnings to Sanjay and misuses the system to his advantage. When they say a film is as good as its villain, it reflects the situation of Sikandar too. At no point does it emotionally resonate with you. Not a single character makes a visible impact – their only job is to do fan service to the protagonist.
In the later stages of the film, it resembles an NGO’s plea for organ donation. The abrupt climax, too, is as tepid as it can get. Even a cop, who was against Sanjay initially, nearly falls at his feet and salutes him by the end. Meanwhile, the subplot involving Vaidehi (played by Kajal Aggarwal), significantly resembles Varsha Bollamma’s segment in Bigil.
In retrospect, Murugadoss faces the same issue as he experienced with Darbar – lacking a strong story the inability of the screenplay to create any emotional link with the death of a pivotal character, resulting in a mishmash that neither pleases the star’s fans nor leaves a true-blue film buff satisfied. In both Darbar and Sikandar, the director has prioritised the release date over honing his scripts.
Sikandar is a terrible disappointment at every possible level, devoid of emotion, entertainment value or even a single seeti-maar sequence.
Music and Other Departments?
Pritam, one of the only hopes left in mainstream Hindi cinema in terms of music, delivers a patchy album full of forgettable tracks. Santhosh Narayanan, with the background score, fares slightly better and pumps some enthusiasm into the dull show. There’s nothing noteworthy about Tirru’s cinematography or the garish production design. The capable writer trio – Rajat Arora, Hussain Dalal, Abbas Dalal – can’t do much to rescue a sinking ship, though the one-liners occasionally sparkle.
Highlights?
Decent idea
Kajal Aggarwal’s subplot
Few scenes in the first half
Drawbacks?
Completely loses track after intermission
No appealing music, action sequences or emotion
Abrupt climax
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
Not at All
Sikandar Movie Review by M9
