Neeraj Pandey’s Sikandar Ka Muqaddar is a dilemma wrapped within a mystery. Can Mumbai police officer Jaswinder prove that a software engineer is guilty of stealing diamonds even though the evidence points to the contrary? And can Pandey, a seasoned purveyor of obsessive hunts in which morally righteous hunters always get the ethically compromised hunted in the end, challenge himself?
Both the answers are in by the end of Sikandar Ka Muqaddar, which is based on an original story by Pandey and a screenplay shared with Vipul K Rawal. Only one is somewhat satisfactory.
The 143-minute Netflix movie balances suspense with ambivalence for at least half its runtime. Summoned to investigate the purloining of solitaires at a gem show, Jaswinder (Jimmy Sheirgill) gets fixated on Sikandar (Avinash Tiwary) and Kamini (Tamannaah Bhatia) as the perpetrators. Jaswinder spends 15 years chasing his conviction, at a personal and professional cost to himself.
Sikandar and Kamini suffer too. Jaswinder resorts to dubious methods beyond legally permissible parameters because he believes that his “manovritti” – or instinct – about criminals is always right. Might Jaswinder be wrong, just this once?
The film demands close watching, particularly in its initial momentum-heavy scenes. This is bad news for the alert viewer who has figured out the modus operandi early on and has to wait until the frustrating climax for the details to be hammered out.
For the watcher who has signed up for a postponed revelation, Pandey keeps crucial information out of sight and maintains an even pace. But missing from Sikandar Ka Muqaddar is the kind of psychological detailing available in other such films about obsessive chases, from The Usual Suspects to Heat and Memories of Murder to Zodiac.
Jaswinder, Sikandar and Kamini are pieces on a chess board, no more and no less. Yet, these halfway-realised characters are ably brought to life by the actors.
Jimmy Sheirgill has the purring attitude of the cat handed an extra-large ball of string. Sheirgill’s effortless charm almost manages to excuse the “ghar mein ghuskar marenge” type tactics he uses on his victims.
Avinash Tiwary is very good too as Sikandar, who is relentlessly bullied by Jaswinder. Tamannaah Bhatia is controlled and effective as the hapless Kamini. There’s a third suspect, hammily played by Rajiv Mehta, who is quickly and mercifully forgotten.
Like Jaswinder, who brags of a “hundred per cent track record”, the movie is far too convinced of its cleverness to be entirely credible. Jaswinder’s smugness colours a plot that might have said something about those who are presumed guilty until proven innocent.
The real “sikandar ka muqaddar”, or the controller of Sikandar’s destiny, is ultimately the director. Given his own track record, there’s no danger of being surprised here, only disappointed at how tame the revelation proves to be.
Also read:
Neeraj Pandey on reuniting with Jimmy Sheirgill in ‘Sikandar Ka Muqaddar’: ‘A fantastic talent’