Producer: Himalaya Motion Pictures Director: Darshan Bagga Starring: Jas Pandher, Kanishka, Raj Babbar, and Danny Denzongpa Music: Anand Raj Anand Lyrics: Dev Kohli Genre: Suspense Thriller Recommended Audience: General Released on: July 02, 2004	Reviewed by: Shruti Bhasin Reviewer's Rating: 4 out of 10 Enter your Rating: 1 out of 10 2 out of 10 3 out of 10 4 out of 10 5 out of 10 6 out of 10 7 out of 10 8 out of 10 9 out of 10 10 out of 10

Let me begin by stating that I was told by close relatives that this movie was worth watching. Little did I realize, this type of so-called “thriller” has been attempted many times before, and fails miserably in content. Shikaar has a small amount of suspense.

The story begins with a bank manager getting killed by Damania (Danny Denzongpa) and his business partners (Shweta Menon, Tej Sapru, Shakti Kapoor, Ashish Vidhyarthi, and Prem Chopra). The movie then shifts to a car thief, Vijay Sanyal (Jas Pandher). He sells big things for cheap prices and when he offers Damania and his associates a 100 crore hotel for 30 crore, they jump. There is one glich, Vijay does not own the hotel.

Vijay concocts a plan to woo the owner of the hotel, Madhu (Kanishka) and gets power of attorney, in order to sell it. They get married and Vijay invites the partners to the hotel to close the deal. When one of the partners is killed, ACP Sumed Singh (Raj Babbar) is sent in to investigate. The prime suspect throughout the entire film is made out to be Vijay, but we know there is a twist. The true killer is revealed at the end, and the movie scores a few points because you cannot guess who it is.

Technically the film is full of faults. The screenplay has many holes to patch up, such as: the story takes place over 20 years span, yet none of the business partners have aged. The direction by Darshan Bagga makes the movie move slowly at times, especially at the intermission point. The viewer is subjected to having every murder set up and knowing which character is about to be killed. The editing lacks depth to make the movie into a real suspense thriller. Shikaar’s only high note is the music. The music is above average with Tumpe Marne Lage Hain Hum standing out.

Jas Pandher stands out of all the performances because he brings some substance to his character. Kanishka is average. The supporting cast is annoying with only Danny Denzongpa leaving a mark.

Recommendation: I won’t let the cat out of the bag and reveal the killer, but only watch the film if you like mystery films. If not, rent an old suspense classic: GUPT.