Sikandar Ka Muqaddar is a 2024 Hindi heist thriller by Neeraj Pandey that weaves crime, suspense, and moral dilemmas into a gripping tale. Starring Jimmy Sheirgill, Avinash Tiwary, Tamannaah Bhatia, Rajeev Mehta, and Divya Dutta, the film premiered on Netflix on 29 November 2024, offering viewers a tense clash between fate and ambition.
Cast and Crew
- Director: Neeraj Pandey
- Screenplay: Neeraj Pandey, Vipul K. Rawal
- Story: Neeraj Pandey
- Producer: Shital Bhatia
- Star Cast: Avinash Tiwary, Jimmy Sheirgill, Tamannaah Bhatia, Rajeev Mehta, Divya Dutta
- Cinematography: Arvind Singh
- Editor: Praveen Kathikuloth
- Music Director: Payal Dev
- Production company: Friday Storytellers
- Genres: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
- Distributor: Netflix
- Release date: 29 November 2024
- Running time:143 minutes
- Country: India
- Language: Hindi
Sikandar Ka Muqaddar movie 2024 Trailer
Star Cast
- Jimmy Sheirgill as IO Jaswinder Singh
- Avinash Tiwary as Sikandar Sharma
- Tamannaah Bhatia as Kamini Singh
- Rajeev Mehta as Mangesh Desai
- Divya Dutta as Kaushalya Singh
- Ridhima Pandit as Priya Sawant
- Zoya Afroz as Tabbasum Khan
- Praful Joshi as Inspector Santosh Kamble
- Santanu Ghatak as Anoop Das
- Rashmi Shukla as Judge Sushila
- Anil Pandey as Judge
- Ashrut Jain as Manish Shukla, Sikandar’s friend
- K. S. Krishnan as Anna
- Shivraj Walwekar as ACP Shrikant Wagh
- Arpit Mishra as Mama ji
- Bharat Jha as Tiwari ji, landlord
- Ashutosh Kushwaha as a waiter
- Aparna Upadhyay as Sikandar’s mother
- Abhishek Mishra as a man in a tenement
- Amrita Kumari as a lady constable
- Allinson Aranha as an informer
- Ravi Kothari
Story of the film
Amid a chaotic heist gone wrong, five red solitaires, valued at ₹50–60 crore, disappear from a heavily policed Mumbai diamond expo. Jaswinder Singh, the investigating officer, has an instinctive suspicion that Mangesh Desai, Kamini Singh, and Sikandar Sharma, an IT technician, are guilty, but he has not found any proof. The authorities attempt to coerce Sikandar into confessing while he is in remand custody, but he insists on his innocence. He forces Jaswinder to swear to him that he will look him in the eye and apologize as soon as Sikandar is proven innocent. All three of the defendants were given bail at a preliminary hearing.
Jaswinder starts destroying Sikandar’s life, which results in him losing his job and housing, as well as social rejection. Kamini, a single mother, and Sikandar become close. Sikandar marries Kamini and they start a family with her baby son and his younger sister. Kamini takes advantage of a chance in Agra to make money by pawning off a small diamond she stole at the exhibition, but Jaswinder catches her in the act. He forces her to spy on Sikandar, but after the family arrives in Agra, she ceases to report back to him.
Due to a lack of evidence, all three of the accused are ultimately found not guilty, and Jaswinder receives criticism for conducting an amateurish investigation. Enraged, he follows Sikandar to Agra, where he is robbed and battered by local thugs, loses his job, and loses his house once more. Sikandar considers suicide, but he decides to confront Jaswinder after realizing that he is responsible for his hardships. Both Jaswinder and Sikandar are plagued by the unresolved case, and the missing solitaires are not found.
Because of his perseverance, tenacity, and Kamini’s encouragement, Sikandar is now a successful project manager in Abu Dhabi, fifteen years later. On the same day that his divorce is finalized, Jaswinder, who has descended into drunkenness and obsession, is dismissed from the police force. He contacts Sikandar to apologize after losing his sense of purpose in life, but Sikandar reminds him of the previous agreement and demands that Jaswinder make amends in person. Jaswinder arranges a face-to-face meeting in Mumbai when he acknowledges that his intuition was incorrect and describes how he orchestrated events to cause Sikandar and his family a great deal of suffering to make him desperate enough to profit from the solitaires that Jaswinder thought he had stolen. Sikandar visits his house in Mumbai and ends his romance with Kamini, but he commits to providing for her and the family financially.
After that, Sikandar visits a rural conservatory run by his boyhood friend Priya, where he finds a bonsai pot that holds the secret solitaires. However, Jaswinder finds him down and holds him at gunpoint at a secluded place after feigning an apology, after figuring that Sikandar would only look for the solitaires when he was certain that Jaswinder had given up on the case. Cornered now, Sikandar describes how he carried out the heist. He came up with his scheme after accidentally learning about the diamond expo’s large-scale heist. He used his understanding of security procedures to steal the solitaires during the pandemonium after anonymously alerting the authorities to the robbery. Sikandar’s information prevented the heist, and police shot the conspirators dead. Priya had come to fetch the conspirators’ bodies.
Sikandar promises to give Jaswinder an offer as the movie comes to a close. Although some viewers might want an ending where he accepts the offer, others would prefer one where Jaswinder cheerfully declines, so viewers are left to choose their conclusion for the story.
Production
Netflix released the title of the movie through a motion poster in February 2024, along with news of another partnership with Neeraj Pandey. Later, in October 2024, Netflix published a behind-the-scenes video that unveiled the cast of stars.
Music/Songs
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Singer |
| 1 | “Thehre Rahen” | Manoj Muntashir | Payal Dev | Jubin Nautiyal |
Review
Lachmi Firstpost’s Deb Roy gave the movie three and a half stars, saying, “The heist thriller starring Jimmy Shergill, Tamannaah Bhatia, and Avinash Tiwary is distinctive to the core.” The plot and each actor’s outstanding performance are what make the film shine. She characterized it as an engrossing thriller with smart twists that keep up a riveting pace throughout its duration and provide a witty, suspenseful experience that concludes on a cliffhanger.
She applauded the film’s emphasis on storytelling over celebrity power, calling it a refreshing OTT offering. She also said that the picture is propelled by a superb ensemble cast and a tale that never ceases to surprise, despite its contrivances and some plot flaws.
In his assessment, Anuj Kumar of The Hindu said that Jimmy Shergill is spot on in this lighthearted heist movie. He said that despite Shergill’s excellent acting and the film’s intriguing premise, it fails because of its overly dramatic and predictable plot points. Although the movie starts promisingly, its lack of tension and poor pacing result in a lost chance, turning it into a shallow thriller that falls short of its potential.
He noted that despite underutilizing its superb actors, the picture keeps audiences on edge with its unexpected turns and gripping narrative. Despite Avinash Tiwary’s outstanding performance, the movie is meant to be a light, one-time viewing, with the possibility of a sequel.
According to Times of India’s Archika Khurana, the movie opens with a captivating diamond robbery and features excellent acting, especially from Jimmy Shergill and Avinash Tiwary. Tamannaah Bhatia, who plays a single mother, also contributes emotional depth. Fans of the genre should only watch it once due to its slow pacing and obvious plot twists, despite its visually stunning moments of genius.
Rediff.com user Sonil Dedhia gave the movie a rating of 2.5 stars, describing it as an underwhelming thriller. He maintained that although it has a compelling idea and excellent acting, the movie suffers from erratic pacing and undeveloped character arcs. Fans of Neeraj Pandey’s work should only see this film once, since, despite its occasional moments of suspense and moral complexity, it is unable to maintain tension.
India Today’s Zinia Bandyopadhyay gave the movie three stars out of five and said in a comment that the runtime hurts Avinash Tiwary’s drama. She pointed out that although it has a good idea and some excellent performances, especially from Avinash Tiwary and Jimmy Shergill, the movie falls short because of its long running length, erratic pacing, and undeveloped screenplay. Despite having a good beginning, the movie eventually turns into a melodrama rather than the compelling robbery thriller it could have been, raising hopes for a more polished follow-up.
References
- Wikipedia contributors. (2025c, July 21). Sikandar ka muqaddar. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikandar_Ka_Muqaddar
- Sikandar ka Muqaddar (2024) ⭐ 6.0 | Action, Crime, Drama. (2024, November 29). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31522415/
