Sadly the reservoir of resonances and echoes gets progressively smothered in the will to create a neat twist at the end of the tale that would work in 'A Wednesday', but not in a film that purports to draw a line of morality between terrorists and civilians in the Kashmir Valley.

However, the stillness that surrounds the scenic splendour of 'Sikandar' is never compromised. The director is discernibly in love with Kashmir though not to the extent of dwarfing the character when juxtaposed against the immense natural beauty of the Valley.

Somak Mukherjee's camera kisses the vales and streams without getting servile and soppy.

The two child actors are natural as far as the unnatural disturbances guiding the plot allow them to be. Sanjay Suri as the deceptively suave politician smiles mysteriously through an under-written role.

R. Madhavan amply and intelligently fills the very limited space offered to him to play the soldier. Newcomer Arunoday Singh as the not-so-reluctant terrorist has a watchable screen presence.

But somewhere in this short and sweet look at a paradise subverted you miss that elevating quality which defines socio-political reality in cinematic terms. Nonetheless 'Sikandar' is a sensitive and gentle depiction of life in an idyllic place where guns have overpowered the roses.