Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009, 7:00 PM

SIKANDAR

India/2009/107min/35mm World premiere

ArcLight Hollywood

[buy tickets here]

Director:Piyush Jha

Producer:BIG Pictures

Screenwriter:Piyush Jha

Cinematographer:Somak Muckerjee

Production Designer:Shruti Gupte

Editor:Dev Jadhav

Music Composer:Justin-Uday, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Sandesg Shandilya

Cast:Parzan Dastur, Ayesha Kapoor, Madhavan, Sanjay Suri, Arunoday Singh

The conflict in Kashmir is explored through the eyes of a young boy in this new film from Big Pictures. Sikandar leads a simple life, living with his aunt and uncle, playing soccer, getting to know Nasreen, the new girl in town, and dealing with a trio of bullies. But, when he finds a gun, the small dramas of his life become entangled with the larger conflicts of the country. Sikandar’s innocent life soon spirals downward as he becomes embroiled in a power struggle between militant groups and the film takes on the twists and turns of a suspense thriller. By the end, Sikandar realizes that there’s no part of his life untouched by war and that he must commit violence in order to restore the innocence that now seems hopelessly lost.

Piyush Jha’s bold experiment places young children at the center of a political thriller. Young Ayesha Kapoor particularly stands out as Nasreen, a complex girl who only seems to represent the film’s moral center. Popular actor Madhavan also stars as an officer desperate to curb the violence.