Shikara, Movie Review: What A Poetry, What A Painting This Sadia-Aadil Love Story In The Valley!

If somebody ever made a film to not please anybody in this land of 'You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours,' Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Shikara would rank  high on that small, coveted list. Watch Shikara to see how the Kashmiri Pandits were displaced and you will get goose-bumps. Watch Shikara for Aadil's baritone voice. Watch Shikara for Sadia  to understand that simplicity is beauty and you don't need to don shorts and shake your butt in your maiden splash to get noticed.

Can't forget the scene when Aadil and Sadia walk into the Presidential suite of  a 5-star. Can't forget the scene when Sadia  looks at her Kashmir home for the last time, before she is displaced. Can't forget the scene where she draws Aadil's attention towards her by wearing a new saree. The list is long but the movie is not. And even if it was, it would have been loved. Vidhu's artistry keeps you engaged.

Shikara is a piece of skill that deserves a standing ovation.

Of course,  AR Rahman's music could have been better. AR is not the same AR who mesmerised us in Bombay, the maestro became repititive at one point and still carries some excesses that need to be dealt with.

But Irshad Kamil's lyrics are so beautiful that they compensate for AR's average fare that have Sandesh Shandilya's few cents as well on board.

All said and done, Shikara is a beautiful love story set in the times of the dastard Kashmiri exodus that happened in 1990.

While some might say that VVC should have dwelt on the details of the horrific history, we need to understand that the sensitive filmmaker was not out to make a documentary. What should instead be seen here is that VVC does not let the protaginists ever slip away into the background, which in turn does not allow the viewer to disconnect at any point of time.

I am going with FOUR. Well done, VVC.



Image Source:-youtube/FoxStarHindi