Ikka

Sunny Deol, Akshaye Khanna courtroom thriller is two decades late

Ikka unfolds like a quintessential '90s courtroom potboiler, often at odds with Netflix's contemporary sensibilities. Morality takes centre stage in this overly dramatic courtroom drama.

On paper, Ikka might have looked fantastic, but it is very ignorantly pulled off. By the end, the film looks desperate to explain its twists and turns since they lose poorly despite having a trail of Aces in Sunny Deol, Akshaye Khanna, and Tillotama Shome!

By the time Ikka reaches its overblown finale, complete with a redundant trick ending, the verdict becomes clear: Melodrama wins, logic loses. The film rarely trusts the strength of that premise, and instead of allowing courtroom arguments to generate tension organically, the film insists on hammering every point home with relentless background score.

A three-way staring match between Sunny Deol, Akshaye Khanna and Tillotama Shome, the old-school pleasures of Siddharth P Malhotra's film dry up in time

Although running on for far too long and piling on a twist too many, the 140-minute Ikka is an engaging timepasser. Siddharth P Malhotra's workmanlike contribution to one of Hindi cinema's favourite genres doesn't deliver on its promise of fireworks, but it isn't a damp squib either.

It is an uneven ride. While the penultimate twist lands with genuine surprise because it relies on intellect, hidden motives, and a clever manipulation of the facts, the final touch, however, is more about maintaining the image of Sunny as the undisputed ace as the makers abandon complex logic to ensure his character stands tall, vindicated, and emotionally triumphant.

Siddharth P Malhotra's Ikka is the story of an upright lawyer (Deol) who must choose between his morals and his daughter's life, when he is called upon to defend sexual assault accused Shauryaman Gaur.