Not easy to keep faith in the fate tale

Heist dramas can be a lot of fun as National Award-winning director Neeraj Pandey proved with his ‘Special 26’. Based on a real life crime of 1987, it remains one of cinephiles’ favourite films on the subject. Only, as Pandey once again wields the directorial baton for a heist film, as promised by him, ‘Sikandar Ka…’ isn’t anything like ‘Special 26’. We can’t say for sure whether that is a good thing or bad, only we don’t expect a director of Pandey’s calibre to repeat himself.

The similarity with ‘Special 26’ begins and ends with the fact that it too revolves around the theft of jewellery. Starting out as a pacy thriller, the opening scenes take you to busting of a robbery plan at a jewellery exhibition. Amid the melee that ensues, diamonds worth Rs 50 crore go missing.

Investigating Officer Jaswinder Singh (Jimmy Shergill) arrives on the scene and in no time identifies suspects. With a 100 per cent record of solving cases, his instinct, ahem moolvriti (and we learn a new word), points the needle of suspicion towards three persons, including a woman, Kamini Singh (Tamannaah Bhatia), manning the very stall where ruby red solitaires were ensconced in a glass enclosure. Doggedly, he also zeroes in on the seemingly guileless Sikandar Sharma (Avinash Tiwary), a computer technician who swears by his innocence.

Guilty or innocent… this isn’t the first time the predicament surfaces on Indian screens and not as a binary either. Kaun masoom, kaun mujrim… the question is loaded. Are the three, especially Sikander and Kamini, in cahoots? The answer is not as important as how to pack thrills in this game of deception. For a while, even the Sherlock in us is as sure as Jaswinder that Sikandar is the man. But pray, how did he pull it off? The body search yields nothing. The smart writer in Pandey does leave behind a cue… provided we can join the dots or wait till the climax.

The suspense builds. Instead of letting the cat out of the bag, the narrative jumps 15 years from the date of the heist. Sikandar is a free man working in Abu Dhabi while Jaswinder is still hostage to his past. A policeman losing his sleep over a case isn’t unheard of. Only, his obsession has cost him his job and married life.

The film moves back and forth and fills in the gaps of this unsolved mystery. Tiwary does a good job of convincing us that he is the victim, ‘guilty till proven innocent’, who has suffered at the hands of the obdurate Jaswinder. Even today, it appears, Jaswinder is on Sikandar’s tail. Only now he is ready to proffer Sikandar the much-needed apology. The sit-down faceoff between Sikandar and Jaswinder lacks the edge-of-seat thrill of which Pandey is otherwise an expert. In fact, that’s the point where the taut narrative begins to meander to finally find its groove in the last half an hour or so.

Pandey’s pen sparkles at times with some rib-tickling lines. Take the dig on Pakistani cricket, for instance: koi match tha Pakistan jeeta finally. And when the superior tells Jasvinder while handing him the termination letter, ‘this is your licence for drinking in the day’, you can barely suppress a chuckle, despite the gravity of the situation. There are some smart moves. If the title of the famous Amitabh Bachchan 1978 film ‘Muqaddar Ka Sikandar’ has been turned around, there is perhaps a veiled subversion in the character of Tabbusum too. Before all this is unveiled, there is the unnecessary drama around Sikandar and Kamini’s life. Indeed, there is a rational explanation for the melodramatic tone in between. Only, the more things are explained, the more they lose the charm.

Still, Pandey manages to stump us each time we form a theory and the climax in particular is delectable, even if the twist is not earth-shattering and the end, oops, open-ended.

Fine actors, especially Shergill and Tiwary, make the parting shot even more delightful. Their conversation close to the finale has a zing and sting. If Shergill like always is competent, the charming Tiwary gets to play many shades of his character’s arc. The lovely Tamannaah Bhatia, minus the paraphernalia of glamour, does what is required of her. Divya Dutta makes an impression even in a bit part as Jimmy’s wife. As for the rest of the supporting cast, well there is a note of authenticity; be it policemen or lawyers, they all look real. Only, they don’t stand out and do exactly as the director ordered.

The film may not be exactly what the critic in us would order, nor applaud outright. But it certainly figures on the more than watchable menu.