Sikandar Ka Muqaddar

Sikandar Ka Muqaddar is a film that has the potential to be a standout thriller but falls short. While it delivers moments of intrigue and features solid performances, its inconsistent pacing and underwhelming character development prevent it from achieving greatness. Fans of Neeraj Pandey's previous work may find it enjoyable as a one-time watch but it doesn't reach the heights of his previous work. For viewers seeking a nuanced, edge-of-your-seat thriller, this film might feel underwhelming. However, if approached with minimal expectations, Sikandar Ka Muqaddar offers enough suspense and moral ambiguity to justify an OTT viewing for this weekend before the audience braces itself for Pushpa 2: The Rule next week.

The film begins on an urgent note. You are sucked into the world Panday creates (also the writer), and really want to know who stole the diamonds. He knows just how much information he needs to give to the viewers at a given point, to leave them intrigued. It works. But somewhere around the halfway point, the film’s tone suddenly changes, and things slow down. From being a thriller about who executed the robbery, the focus completely shifts to Sikandar’s woes. This might not go down well with some viewers, purely because things started on a pacy note. Also, the filmmaker in Neeraj, who has made projects for theatres until now, can’t resist adding a romantic song. Just for the sake of it. It’s things like these which keep Sikandar Ka Muqaddar from being a true-blue thriller. The big twist is…not as big as you would imagine.

Firstly, the film’s runtime seems to be its biggest hurdle that stops it from becoming the perfect heist drama. Spanning for almost two and a half hours, it could have been significantly shorter. In fact, this was a feature film and not a web series, which is why the melodrama fitted here and there, the constant flashbacks of something we saw just minutes ago, and the stretched climax do not quite work in the film's favour.  As the film approaches its end, you see what's coming, something that mars the build-up for a thriller. Of course, you get the whiff of what might ultimately happen in the end, but then, stretching it sort of kills the thrill. The screenplay is what could have been majorly worked on. With Neeraj Pandey being the screenplay writer as well as the director, he had more control. Yet, the loopholes are glaring that hamper the cinematic experience. The editing could also have been worked on, to make the heist drama more engaging and thrilling. The sepia tone also looks a bit too much, given we aren't even going back to the 90s here.Â