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Starring:
Parzun Dastur, Ayesha
Kapur, Sanjay Suri, R Madhavan, Arunoday Singh, Zahgeer
Quadir
Director - Piyush Jha
Piyush
Jha’s Sikandar has a refreshingly different story. The
film looks at the conflict in Kashmir, without taking
sides. The story focuses on a kid who becomes a pawn in
a dangerous game played by politicians and terrorists.
Quite smartly the director draws attention to the
present day newspaper and television clippings that
highlight the truth that kids are being used in wars
waged in the name of religion.
Sikandar (Parzaan Dastur) is a 14-year-old schoolboy
whose parents were killed by militants 10 years back.
Since his early childhood, he has lived with his aunt
and uncle, in a small town in Kashmir.
It happens so, one day, on his way home from a school
football match, the young boy Sikandar finds a gun lying
on the path. Despite admonishments by his newly made
school friend, Nasreen (Ayesha Kapoor), Sikandar picks
up the gun unleashing the darker side in him, thus
begins a journey into the darker side of his nature.
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R. Madhavan as the Lt. Colonel
Mukhtaar Mattoo (Sanjay Suri), a reformed militant
leader constantly attempts to broker peace between the
militants, the army and the religious leaders. And we
have the feared Zahgeer Quadir (Arunoday Singh) - a
militant leader and Area Commander of the Kashmir Azaadi
(Freedom) Force.
As the story unfolds, Sikandar becomes the innocent
victim drawn into a game being played out between the
militants, the peace bartering politicians and the
religious heads of the little Kashmiri town.
Sanjay Suri as the reformed
militant leader
Cast
Parzun Dastur - Sikandar
Ayesha Kapur - Nasreen
Sanjay Suri - Mukhtaar Masoodi
R Madhavan - Lt. Colonel Rajesh P. Rao
Arunoday Singh - Zahgeer Quadir
Nassar Abdulla
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As the story unfolds, it is the quiet yet strong Nasreen
who becomes Sikandar's conscience keeper. She often tries
to dissuade him from giving in to the lure of the gun.
Unfortunately the innocent boy gets embroiled further and
further in situations beyond his control further and
further and people get killed.
There is Lt. Colonel Rao (R.Madhavan) who is the army
commander of the area. With many years of duty in Kashmir
he has the ability to see beyond the obvious as he steers
through the under-currents, of the political and religious
kind.
Towards the end, story suddenly moves into the
suspense-thriller genre with a predictable suspense. There
are some sequences that leave an impact - like the one
when a blast occurs during the pre-climax – mind blowing.
But at another instance, the army officer hands a gun to
Sikandar to avenge his father's death. Now this looks
unlikely.
Director of Photography Somak Mukherjee captures the
scenic beauty of Kashmir very well with some stunning
visuals of the valley. Parzaan acts quite naturally,
Ayesha is okay. Madhavan comes up with a brilliant act as
the Lt. Colonel. Sanjay Suri underplays his part
impressively. Arunoday Singh with his strong on screen
personality makes a striking debut as the terrorist
Zahgeer Quadir.
- PAW
Credits & Crew
Banner - Sudhir Mishra Productions, Big Pictures
Producer - Sudhir Mishra
Director - Piyush Jha
Story / Writer - Piyush Jha
Editor - Dev Jadhav
Cinematography - Somak Mukherjee
Lyricist - Prasoon Joshi, Neelesh Misra
Music Director - Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy
Casting - Shanoo Sharma
Production Design - Shruti Gupte
Stunts - Parvez Shaikh, Feroz Sheikh
Background Music - Uday Kamat, Justin
Sound - Subhash Sahu
Singers - Shankar Mahadevan, Anousha Mani, Mohit Chauhan,
Mehrajuddin, Hrishikesh Kamerkar, Yash Narvekar, Shilpa
Rao, Hamsika Iyer |
