Movie: Sikander
Rating: 2/5
Banner: Tirupathi Brothers Film Media, Ramalakshmi Cine Creations
Cast: Suriya, Samantha, Vidyut Jamwal, Manoj Bajpayee, Murali Sharma and Others
Music by: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Cinematography: Santosh Sivan
Edited by: Anthony
Producer: Lagadapati Sirisha Sridhar
Story, Screenplay and Direction: N. Lingusamy
Release Date: August 15, 2014
Suriya, Linguswamy and a mafia theme set in Mumbai -- Sikander, the Telugu version of Tamil film Anjaan has been in news for quite some time and there have been a lot of expectations from Suriya’s fans. So let’s check out if it lives up to the expectations…
Story:
The film starts in Kanyakumari, but the story begins in Mumbai. Krishna (Suriya) from Vizag comes to Mumbai and starts enquiring about his missing brother Raju. As he goes around meeting people, we are told that Raju is actually Raju bhai (Suriya again), a well-known and much-loved gangster in Mumbai. He along with his friend Chandu (Vidyut Jamwal) rule the underworld in a happy-go-lucky manner. But opposition comes in the form of a strict police commissioner. To counter him, Raju bhai kidnaps his daughter Jeeva (Samantha). One thing leads to another and within no time, Jeeva falls for the brash and macho Raju bhai. And it is not long before Raju bhai reciprocates his love for chirpy and sweet Jeeva.
Even as their romance begins, Raju bhai and Chandu end up making enemies with Imran (Manoj Bajpai). Raju bhai goes missing and Chandu is killed. Will Krishna find his brother? Will Chandu’s death be avenged, forms the rest of the story.
Artistes’ Performances:
It is Suriya’s show all the way. He is perfect as the crutch-wielding brother of Raju bhai who comes looking for his brother at the beginning of the film. But the show stealer is definitely Raju bhai, who is brash, wild and menacing at times. He plays with part with elan and charms you with his awesome smile. He emotes beautifully with his eyes during romantic and emotional scenes and he is total pleasure to watch as always.
Samantha on the other hand leaves her fans disappointed. She discards her plain Jane image to look ultra glam. Her stylist has done a good job and she is seen in some really good outfits. And yes, all her fans out there get to see her in a bikini. Yet, she misses out on the oomph element. Though she tries her best to sizzle in hot pants, she looks like a little school girl out to have fun rather than a hot girl wooing her boyfriend. The Telugu audiences are bound to be disappointed as they are used to seeing a beautiful Samantha in our films.
Vidyut Jamwal as Chandu is a good match for Suriya and they look totally believable as buddies who could die for each other. Well, given that he has a huge female fan following, he makes the most of it by looking handsome effortlessly.
Manoj Bajpai as Imran is a major letdown. After watching him in some memorable roles in Bollywood, he looks pale and lost in the film. In fact, instead of looking intimidating, he looks as if he has just recovered from a major illness.
Have to mention Chitrangadha Singh here, who has been roped in to do an item song. She looks voluptuous and sexy in her red outfit and provides the much-needed oomph factor.
Brahmanandam puts in a cameo which is a parody of famous musicians. Unfortunately, he fails to make the audience laugh and leaves you wondering as to why he accepted the role in the first place.
Other supporting cast puts in decent performances.
Technical Excellence:
Cinematography is by Santosh Sivan. So, he is as good as ever. However, another major disappointment comes from Yuvan Shankar Raja. Given that it’s a gangster film, it does have decent background score. But the songs are totally forgettable, at least in the Telugu version.
Like in most films these days, the second half is bit lengthy and the editor could have done away with a few scenes to retain the pace.
Highlights:
- Suriya’s performance
Drawbacks:
- Weak plot
- Music
Analysis:
For starters, it was said that it would be a double dhamaka for Suriya fans as they will get to see him in two roles. Then, there were hordes of stories about Samantha shedding her girl-next-door image and turning hot and sexy for the film.
Last, but surely not the least, Linguswamy with a good track record of hits promised that his film has everything that fans would want to see in a Suriya film.
But the film disappoints at many levels. Despite getting to watch Suriya in two different roles, Suriya fans are bound to be let down by the weak script the director has picked.
Samantha’s fans are bound to be upset for seeing their favourite actress playing a badly etched out character unlike the author-backed roles she gets to play in Telugu.
Though the film has it all – rival gangs, baddies, friendship, treachery, few twists apart from interesting cast, it fails to hold your attention.
Suriya puts in his best along with Samantha and Vidyut Jamwal. But they do not succeed in salvaging the stale fare dished out by Linguswamy.
Having Suriya and Samantha in the cast gave ample scope for him to churn out a mega, commercial film. But he tells an age-old story in a boring and lengthy yarn.
Despite being a gangster film, most of his characters are weak and lack depth unlike characters seen in Bollywood gangster flicks.
Though he starts out on a good note and uses the flashback technique to unravel the story, he fails to keep the audience interested till the very end.
The story gets boring in the second half and Linguswamy throws no surprises to keep them glued.
Before the film’s release, it was said that Sikander would do for Suriya what Badshah did for Rajinikant. But Linguswamy totally wastes two top stars and all hardwork put in by a promising team.
Watch it only if you are a die-hard fan of Suriya.
Bottomline: Strictly for Suriya fans
(Venkat can be reached at [email protected] or https://twitter.com/greatandhranews)
