Sikandar (2009)

Sikandar, written and directed by Piyush Jha, is intended as a poignant drama about the lost innocence of children in Kashmir. Despite its best efforts though, the film doesn't quite work because of a rickety screenplay that leaves you with too many questions unanswered.Parzaan Dastur stars as 14-year-old Sikandar, a football-obsessed Muslim kid whose parents were killed by militants in the Valley, and who lives with his uncle and aunt in the Kashmiri countryside now. He's routinely picked on by the bullies at school, and when he stumbles across a discarded pistol one day, he decides to keep it, and begins waving it in the face of anyone who bothers him. A local Islamic militant notices this and befriends the young boy whom he trains to use the gun. Ayesha Kapur stars as Sikandar's school friend Nasreen, who warns him to stay away from the gun and his new mentor, but the kid inadvertently becomes embroiled in a tussle between feared militants, a peace-advocating politician, and the Army. It's the writing, unfortunately, that plays spoilsport here, with poor characterisation coming in the way of your taking this tale seriously. Jha makes cardboard caricatures out of significant characters like the Army officer (played by R Madhavan), the dreaded terrorist (played by newcomer Arunoday Singh), and the peace-trading politician (played by Sanjay Suri), each of whom is saddled with clunky dialogue. While it's admirable that the film doesn't take sides when pointing out where the real problem lies, Sikandar suffers from the sudden shift in tone – it goes from a standard morality tale in its first half to a cheesy thriller in its second. There is also the issue of the unforgivable, over-simplistic climax in which the leads are absolved of responsibility for their crimes. What's more the film's jarring background score and sluggish pace also act as party poopers. On the up-side, Sikandar is memorable for its compelling cinematography of this scenic land in all its lush beauty. But sadly that is not enough to do the trick. Both leads – Parzaan Dastur and particularly Ayesha Kapoor – appear too raw to pull off consistent performances, and the plot holes are too many to ignore. Sikandar may have its heart in the right place, but its other parts needed assembling.It misses its goal by a mile.

its very nice movie u can watch this movie more than once This movie is mainly about 'aazad Kashmir ' u can understand the movie through this if u know about that matter. But its contain lot emotion of boy & girl and both r best friend. If u watch movie you also seen that with low budget movie director have done very good job One more thing is very good in this movie is that its very small duration movie, it's end before u get bored , most Hindi movie r too long but this is not that type of movie. u must watch this movie , u must like this movie. its contain of suspense, terrorist, terrorism , etc if u watch this in this we also seen most part of Kashmir how they live etc.. But this movie is much of home type movie rather than hall movie u must watch this movie at home in your TV or PC. don't waste your money in buying ticket

This is an interesting story i was not expecting the ending. Its set in very beautiful settings of India's lovely region of Kashmir. What I liked was that it was actually less about Kashmir as such, but more of a kind of tale of deception and intrigue - almost like a gangster film - but instead of gangsters - its a young boy who comes across a gun, and terrorists.I actually went as I really had liked the little girl from Black and she was in this movie, and she does a very good job as the boy's friend. I also liked Madhavan, but I think he could have been there more as he is a very good actor. But overall very good performances, especially from the boy who plays the lead. The direction is also very tight - and keeps you on the edge of your seat through the explostions, gunshots, intrigue, and of course the cinematography takes you away in the beautiful region of Kashmir, and into the world of the young hero.I think the story is very interesting and very different from normal bollywood as it tackles a serious scenraio, but in an entertaining way.In terms of problems, I wish more of the day to day life of Kashmir was shown, and other characters also shown, and also some more focus on the football, which is what the hero's dream was - so as to show how hard it is to dream in a place like Kashmir.

Directed By- Piyush JhaProduced By- Sudhir MishraFeaturing- Parzan Dastur, Ayesha Kapoor, Madhavan, Sanjar Suri..If you guys loved Parzan Dastur in Parzania and Ayesha Kapoor in Black, you'll love them yet again in Sikandar. Directed by Piyush Jha, Sikandar has a terrific script but when it comes to execution of the same is where it fails. Going by the sidelines of the tension that surrounds Jammu and Kashmir, Piyush Jha manages to capture the essence of the lives of young children really well.Sikandar is a movie of a young boy Sikandar Raza(Parzan Dastur) who like any other 10 year old is naughty-innocent and a passionate football player. Living alone with his aunt and uncle, soon Sikandar finds a pal,a 10 year old Nasreen(Ayesha Kapoor), who accompanies him during the morning walk to school. During one such walk to school is when both of them find a gun lying on the same isolated path. Sikandar is cautioned by Nasreen not to get close to the gun but much to his curiosity takes the gun and without much knowledge is left with no other option but to use the gun to his own benefit, may it be scaring off the bullies in school or scaring people on the street. Soon he's seen training with a Jihadi militant who promises him a washing machine if he trains and shoots the person that they target on. Circumstances get way too complicated when Sikandar shoots the Jihadi Militant out of frustration and makes his life even more miserable. The army start a search operation in pursuit of the little boy and the twists that follow is something that you need to watch it yourself.Sikandar is not a bad movie but it takes time for you to realize that its a good movie. You don't really feel for the characters like you felt for Ishaan Awasthi in Taare Zameen Par or Michelle McNally in Black. By the time you get into the rhythm and start liking that characters, the curtains are down. The main let down factor of this movie is its promise that it created with its trailers. Parzan Dastur is impressive and manages to deliver the goods well. Ayesha Kapoor's performance is average and has blank expressions in a few scenes making her look awkward. Madhavan who plays the role of a Commander of the Indian Army is also good and is supported well by Sanjay Suri.Music of Sikandar by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is one thing that needs special appreciation. Neatly done are the tracks "Dhoop Ke Sikke" and "Gulon Mein". I will go with 7 out of 10 for Piyush Jha's Sikandar.Originally Posted @ TalkingPopcorns.com