Sikandar Ka Muqaddar Review: Hot and Cold Experience

In this Netflix crime-drama film, a daring diamond heist results in Investigating Officer Jaswinder Singh zeroing in on three suspects based solely on instinct – Kamini Singh, Sikandar Sharma and Mangesh Desai. However, as the line between guilt and innocence blurs, so do those between reality and obsession as Jaswinder refuses to let the matter rest. Will he be able to catch the guilty party eventually?

The film has a runtime of 140 minutes.

Sikandar Ka Muqaddar Review

In Sikandar Ka Muqaddar, a cop butts heads against three seemingly normal people who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. What follows is 2 and a half hours of these two men trying to stroke their own egos and destroying the lives of those around them in the process. The movie is shockingly relatable in that context, with both Sikandar and Jaswinder not giving up the very thing that is slowly eating away at them and refusing to see the bigger picture.

There are moments in Neeraj Pandey’s crime-drama film that will grip you. However, at such a huge runtime, the movie starts to lag soon afterwards, leaving you in a maze of boredom as you are made to witness a pissing contest. Most viewers might be able to figure out who the culprit(s) right after the robbery takes place. The first ~20 minutes were thoroughly engaging as the scene is set for the rest of the film but after that, the movie meanders in every way possible without stopping to think whether or not it’s needed in the grand scheme of things.

The relationship between the two men and their rivalry is probably the most interesting part of this story. I found myself thoroughly engaged when the two characters discuss what they have and haven’t done over the past 15 or so years. Unfortunately, everything else just seems like an extra annoyance, added solely to pad the runtime. The thrill vanishes during these moments and you are forced to wait the time out in order to get to the meaty parts.

I think most viewers can discern that there’s very little mystery in the story. Sure, we wonder who could’ve stolen the diamonds and how but that’s about it. There definitely was space here for the film to cut out the extra and give us a more comprehensive and tight storyline surrounding the heist but that is lost because there is so much fluff here. I also think that the film doesn’t utilise all of its characters well and most are here to either support Sikandar or Jaswinder. That’s a really disappointing turn of events and it really does make you wonder the point of it all after everything comes to an end.

That being said, Avinash Tiwary is fantastic as Sikandar – he is sweet as sugar but thoroughly cunning and leaves you wondering whether or not he could’ve pulled off such a big robbery. With him is Tamannaah Bhatia, who, unfortunately, turns out to be just a support character when everything is done and dusted. Lastly, Jimmy Shergill is Jaswinder and is equally delicious in this role of an egotistical IO. The rivalry between the men is thrilling and makes you wish for some more.

In the end, everything is brought to the open in Sikandar Ka Muqaddar. Unfortunately, after all the hoops we are made to jump through, the core robbery portion was a bit underwhelming. You expect something a bit more elaborate and want to learn of the perpetrator’s motivations but we don’t get very deep into that for some reason, leaving us to just absorb this information because we are told to. It’s disappointing when you are not convinced of a crime but have to accept it just because. It feels a bit sloppy.

Final Thoughts

Sikandar Ka Muqaddar could’ve been fascinating and absolutely gripping. Unfortunately, it loses itself in its own story and fails to deliver on the interesting premise that it had created. Although there are moments of thrill and anticipation, there is just so much fluff that viewers can’t help but find themselves lost.

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