Sikandar ka Muqaddar

Sikandar Ka Muqaddar (2024) : Movie Review -

Amitabh Bachchan starred in Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978), which justified its title with the main character rising from zero to the top and then becoming a king-size hero. Reversing the theme, Neeraj Pandey brings Sikandar Ka Muqaddar, as the hero's fate is misjudged by the circumstances, but is that the truth? No, there is a lot more in the store, so prepare yourself for a typical Neeraj Pandey thriller. Enough praise; now I asked myself, "Does this film make any sense?" The answer is no. This has to be the most rubbish thriller ever written and directed by Pandey. It's hard to believe that the filmmaker, who once delivered 3 consecutive classic thrillers in a row (unheard of stuff by any director in Bollywood) with "A Wednesday," "Special 26," and "Baby," is now struggling to make a decent-average flick. It's high time he wakes up and gets back to old form.

Officer Jaswinder Singh (Jimmy Sheirgill) has a 100% track record, so he is appointed to high priority to solve a robbery case at NISCO where 5 diamonds worth Rs. 50-60 crores have been stolen. During the investigation, his basic instinct says that one of the three from Sikandar (Avinash Tiwary), Kamini (Tamannaah Bhatia), and Mangesh (Rajiv Mehta), or maybe all 3, has stolen it. He takes them into custody, tortures them, but is unable to get any info out of them. The three are harassed by Jaswinder, especially Sikandar, because of Jassi's egoistic instinct, and the poor Sikandar has to pay a high price for it at every phase of his life. Who's the real culprit, and will Jaswinder be able to find him/her?

Neeraj has actually written a good script that keeps you hooked for two hours or so, but it's the next 30 minutes that destroy this well-made thriller because of its brainless conclusion. There is no real motive shown behind the robbery, no real planning of aftermaths, and no precautions taken either. That's silly, man. Someone hides a small diamond in a nail, and they are telling me that the cops didn't find it when we all know that a body detector can trace it so easily. Someone breaks the glass bracket and steals diamonds, and the cops didn't bother checking the rod by which it was broken and checking fingerprints to catch the thief? I mean, it's so basic to get a heist thriller right, but even a genius like Pandey didn't think of this? Totally unacceptable. By the way, who waits for 15 years and destroys its own life for diamonds that can't be used or destroys personal life and career to find a thief? All these theories are extremely annoying and super childish. I didn't expect a good-looking thriller to collapse like this with such rubbish ideas at the end. Not by Neeraj Pandey, but maybe that's the phase he's going through currently and it seems that it's affecting his work too.

Performance-wise, Avinash Tiwary is pretty impressive. His expressions during those begging-for-life scenes are damn good. He doesn't go well with romance and regular drama portions, though. Tamannaah Bhatia looks gorgeous as always and also fails with voice modulation as always. Rajiv Mehta does well with his small part with utmost conviction. Jimmy Sheirgill fans are in for a treat again. This man is so good at everything he does! His versatility always keeps him ahead of contemporaries. Jaswinder's character has two different phases, and he performs both parts so well. Ridhima Pandit has a two-minute role and passes the time without any flaws. The supporting cast, especially the man who played Ghorpade and Jaswinder's assistant have done a fantastic job.

Sikandar Ka Muqaddar has a romantic song that feels completely useless as per the ongoing tempo of the film. It appears right after a dramatic sequence and spoils the tuning of the linear impact and pace of the film. The screenplay keeps things pacy, thankfully, and the background score was fine too. The camera work wasn't really great, but strictly okay, as we have several slow scenes and pauses just to complete a walk or one activity of the character. That takes too much time and gives you a moment to unlock your phone and check some stuff on internet. A thriller that doesn't give you this chance is what I call a brilliant thrilling affair. After finishing Sikandar Ka Muqaddar, you take a moment to rewind the story and realise that it was a pointless film. Not because of the bleak ending, but because it lacks the base on which the tower is standing. Neeraj Pandey's direction has a few ignorable flaws and that's fine, but as a storyteller and writer, he fails completely. That's so unfortunate. In short, Sikandar Ka Muqaddar runs like a winning horse for hours, only to break its leg a few meters behind the finishing line.

RATING - 4/10*