A good story gunned down by poor acting and filmmaking - "IIPM Press"

Two child stars India had showered a lot of love and praise on, Parzan Dastur (of “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”) and Ayesha Kapoor (of “Black”) return to the silver screen in “Sikandar.” Parzan plays the title character, a gawky orphan of 14 years, who lives with his aunt and uncle, seems to care only for football, and is bullied by three boys from the rival football team. He comes across a gun on the way to his school, which he picks up and uses to scare away the bullies. But thanks to the gun, he also gets embroiled in the games being played by the army, jihadis and religious heads. And before you know it, a terrorist (Arunoday Singh) trains him to shoot, and in return for a washing machine for his aunt, asks him to assassinate a politician (Sanjay Suri)! His friend Nasreen (Ayesha) stays by his side, and constantly counsels him to throw away the gun.

Not many filmmakers in India entrust children with the entire weight of the film, and though Piyush Jha’s effort is noble, Parzan and Ayesha are sadly not able to shoulder the burden well. Little time and effort is allowed to develop the other characters, and so while Madhavan is good as the intelligent officer, Arunoday is impressive for a newcomer, and Sanjay fits in his role too, there’s not much that has been asked of them. Jha’s effort in not taking sides, and showing the army also in not a very flattering shade, is commendable. And while the script has surprises and twists, the slow pace of the film pulls it down. The best part of the film is its cinematography, for once more we see Kashmir, in all breathtaking beauty and splendour.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative