Shikaar
- Director
- Darshan Bagga
- Studio
- Surjit Pandher
- Release Date
- 2 July 2004
- Language
- Hindi
- Budget
- ₹3.50 Cr
- Box Office
- ₹2.60 Cr
Review
Shikaar attempts to weave a tangled web of murder, greed, and betrayal, but stumbles badly in execution, delivering what feels like a half-baked thriller that mistakes convoluted plotting for sophistication. The premise—a duplicitous husband orchestrating hotel theft and murder—has genuine dramatic potential, reminiscent of psychological thrillers like Chandni Bar or even Badla, yet director Smarajit Dasgupta seems more interested in piling on plot twists than developing character motivations or building genuine tension. The narrative becomes increasingly muddled as it introduces layer upon layer of suspects and schemes (the nameless loan, the blackmail subplot, the convenient body vanishing), each addition further diluting the core conflict rather than enriching it. What should have been a sleek, propulsive thriller instead devolves into a soap opera of exposition and contrivance.
The performances fail to salvage the material. While Vidyut Jammwal and Chitrangda Singh possess the star power to anchor a thriller of this scope, there's a flatness to their work—less a reflection of their abilities than the hollow characterizations they're given. Singh, particularly, deserves better material than a victimized hotel owner with minimal agency in her own story. The supporting cast merges into an undifferentiated mass of conspirators, making it nearly impossible to track who wants what and why. Technically, the film has its moments—the lakeside aesthetics of Mussoorie provide decen
Storyline
Vijay sweeps wealthy Madhu off her feet in Mussoorie, marries her, and uses a sneaky Power of Attorney to take control of her prized Hotel Savoy. When the hotel starts hemorrhaging money, he decides to sell it to Darshan Damania and his shady crew without Madhu's blessing—a move that absolutely guts her since her father built the place. But things get dark fast when Mirza, one of the partners, explodes in a car bomb, and Julie, Madhu's best friend, witnesses the whole thing—only to get murdered herself before she can say anything useful.
As Julie bleeds out, she manages to tell Madhu that Vijay's the killer, and suddenly everyone's a suspect in this twisted web of greed and betrayal. ACP Sumed Singh shows up sniffing around, uncovering a mysterious 3-crore loan document with no name attached, which makes him eyeball Damania's entire operation. Things spiral when Kanwar tries to blackmail Rama into giving him half her cash, but someone in a black coat tosses him out like garbage—and Vijay's conveniently there to help Rama cover it up when the body mysteriously vanishes along with Kamya.
Sumed's closing in on the truth, finding Kanwar's clothes by the lake and piecing together that someone inside this rotten circle is the real mastermind behind all these deaths. The tension explodes as Vijay walks into Damania's office with the sale agreement, Sumed arrives with murder accusations, and the web of lies, blackmail, and hidden identities finally starts unraveling—leaving everyone wondering if Vijay's the villain or just another pawn in someone else's deadly game.
