‘Ikkis’ Review: Humanistic Intention Marred By Pyschological Oversimplification

Sriram Raghavan seems to be descending into the type of contrived filmmaking that makes one wonder if the artistic muse has blocked his creativity and stopped responding to his calls; and after a totally inert and lifeless Merry Christmas, he’s back again with Ikkis: his humanistic concerns and call for pacifism marred by the psychological oversimplifications and moral preachings obviating the multifold complexities of the human condition.

Wars are fought so poets can sing about them, filmmakers can make a movie out of them, and the real business of war: buying and selling, can go on as usual. However, the anti-war verses sung naturally allow one to justify that for which there’s no justification; and verily, there are filmmakers who have capitalised on and impactfully shattered the delusions and lies that hide behind such justifications, and Sriram Raghavan is not one of them.

For the uninitiated, the film revolves around the bravery and tragedy of a warrior: the timeline divided into two, the film narrates the life of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetrapal (Agastya Nanda), a Paramveer Chakra Awardee for his courage on the battlefield in the 1971 India-Pakistan War, and in the present it follows the aftermath, the bubbling grief and the subsequent healing process of Arun’s father, M.L. Khetrapal (Dharmendra), as he embarks on a journey to visit his roots on a diplomatic detour post Kargil.

The empathy Raghavan attempts to generates is not organic, mistaking contrived sentimentality for sentimental notions, he somehow manages to make a film without any meaningful conflict: ethnic harmony more important than ethnic unity, people across the world are same differentiated only by the knowledge, on both sides are people ready for exchanging the ideas and people radical in their belief: and a small section in between to exploit the polarization of the divide (and condemn them we must); but Raghavan cheats in his approach and still fails: cherry on the top is the wooden and operatic lead actor who never imparts any poignancy to Khetrapal’s dilemma about duty and loyalty, failing to give audience a sense of the tragedy of a warrior.

All in all, the film is not earnest; it’s so preachy and soapy that it struggles to spark any meaningful conversation and verily has many people mistaking the schwach sentiments for profundity, which is unfortunate since the director’s heart seems to be in the right place. A dud.

Ikkis is directed by Sriram Raghavan and stars Agastya Nanda, Jaideep Ahlawat, Dharmendra, Sikandar Kher, and Shree Bishnoi. The film is now playing in theatres worldwide courtesy of Maddock Films and Yash Raj Films.

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