First it was 'Kal Ho Na Ho', and then came 'Main Hoon Na'; these films making the box office hot like the scorching weather. After a breeze of some good films come the same old-fashioned formula films of seventies and eighties when stalwarts like Man Mohan Desai and Prakash Mehra were churning hits with almost the same story line and the star cast. The heavyweights do not work in formula films any more, but producers find it hard to resist them from making Masala films. The result is 'Shikaar' turns a comeback movie for its hero Jas Pandher, who made a lackluster debut with 'Indian Babu' some time back.
'Shikaar' is a murder mystery with loads of music, plenty of skin show and a heavy dose of lecherous villains. Director Darshan Bagga has tried to rope in too many fundas in one film and has eventually failed to concentrate on one point even. The film comes at a time when youngsters are reeling under the heat of Euro Cup and Wimbledon though it has almost no competition at the box office; the other film released with it, 'Hyderabad Blues 2', is only for the niche audience.
One watches 'Shikaar' with expectations of getting jerks and jolts after every few scenes. However, its just normal pace kills his anxiety.
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'Shikaar' is the story of a killer who is out to kill each and every one who dares to do injustice to its near and dear ones. The film has a car thief in Vijay Sanyal (Jas Pandher) as its hero who is jack of many trades. Vijay has got a boon with which he can sell a prime property in lush locales of Mussorie at a throwaway price. He gets potential buyers in none other than some notorious but rich casino owners (Prem Chopra, Shakti Kapoor, Danny, Ashish Vidyarthi, Shweta Menon). The group of these fortune players jumps to grab the deal as they are getting a valuable property for almost nothing. But the real problem starts when these people reach at the spot. There is some one who doesn't like their arrival in the city. After the people are butchered the ACP Sumedh Singh (Raj Babbar) enters the scene. Everyone is a suspect of the killings. It may take long to nab the killer. 'Shikaar' vouches to send the chill down to every viewer's nerves but succeeds very little?
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The post-mortem report of 'Shikaar' predicts untimely demise of the film from the box office for various reasons. The film does not have even a single face that can work as crowd puller. Nor are its makers of repute. Jas Pandher is just one film old and has no value for his name. The new find Kanishka though makes a notable debut but her name is missing in the publicity. The film heavily relies on its senior star cast, but even their combined efforts fail to make any impact. It's only Danny who leaves an impression. Danny oozes machismo on the screen and the hot girls in his company do make some value for money but only for frontbenchers. Shweta Menon looks a bit seductive but she is repetitive too. Sadia Siddiqui is better than her. The promotion is poorly planned. No credit has been given to its female leads. Director Darshan Bagga though shows his capability to handle the genre with finesse but he fails miserably because of the poor story line and the pathetic screenplay.
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'Shikaar' may flop at the box office because of the flip-flop approach of its makers. From the beginning every one knows who the killer is. The director dares to show side profiles of the killers at most places. Suspects have different physique; it means the casting was not planned. Even then the director takes a chance in deviating from the expected lines at last and tries to fool the audience. The reason for killing looks weak and the climax is just flat. For a successful murder mystery, the graph on happenings should go in vertical posture but in 'Shikaar' it fails to move even in progression.
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The music part is not well planned too. The song sequences are abrupt and create hindrance for the story, though some of the songs penned by Dev Kohli and composed by Anand Raj Anand are hummable. One the whole, 'Shikaar' is like the saying goes: 'Shikaar karne aaye the shikaar ho ke chale..'. The chances are bleak in metros though the film may earn some money for its makers and distributors in small centers and interiors.
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