Saindhav Review: Venkatesh’s Desi John Wick is Decent, but it’s Nawazuddin Siddiqui who Steals the Show

Saindhav review: Sailesh Kolanu, who previously directed two murder mysteries in the HIT franchise, attempts to make a film with a masala touch for the first time. Saindhav, starring Venkatesh, Shraddha Srinath, Ruhani Sharma, and Andrea Jeremiah, plays out like our desi John Wick. The action drama, however, is only partly engaging, with the film failing to hold your attention.

In the fictional port city of Chandraprastha, Saindhav aka Saiko (Venkatesh) leads an idyllic life with his young daughter Gayatri (Sara Palekar) and neighbor, a taxi driver called Manu (Shraddha Srinath). He works as a crane operator at the port and will do anything for his daughter’s happiness. However, she is diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and the injection alone costs ₹17 crores, the kind of money he doesn’t have. Desperate to save his daughter with the help of Dr Renu (Ruhani), Saindhav is drawn back to the dangerous world of crime he left behind.

Saindhav has the kind of story that seems exciting on paper. It’s the kind of film fans have been begging star heroes to do – play age-appropriate roles in films that keep you on the edge of your seat. And while the film ticks a few boxes, it doesn’t go all out. Sure, Venkatesh gets moments which are supposed to tug at your heartstrings or show off just how ruthless he can be. After a while, the desperation to secure a vial for his daughter and the cat-and-mouse game with a gangster called Vikas Malik (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) feel repetitive with a sense of deja vu. Because it’s nothing you haven’t seen before.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays the slimy and psychotic Vikas with such ease that he’s a delight to watch on-screen. His character is detailed well, and the actor just relishes in the bloodbath. The best part is that, unlike your usual run-of-the-mill villains, Vikas is hilarious in the way he falters to speak in Telugu and doesn’t hold back with his cuss words in Dakhni. You can’t help but chuckle when he’s throwing a childlike tantrum or failing spectacularly at wooing Jasmine (Andrea Jeremiah). He also makes you wince when he bites an ear off or grins manically while sawing into someone’s neck.

We’re told early on in the film that the children of this city are suffering in numerous ways. If hundreds of them are suffering from SMA and dying because their parents cannot afford medication, there are others who are being radicalized and brainwashed into joining cartels to do their dirty work. But Saindhav seems to find rudimentary solutions for both issues even within its universe. Saiko suffers from the ‘main hero syndrome,’ where he walks away with a few scratches even as armed people around him drop like flies. Venkateshplays this character with ease. He broods through most of the film, with only the final moments giving him a little scope to perform.

Saindhav is not a bad film by any means, it’s not the kind of film where you find everything unbearable. But it’s also not the kind of film where anything sticks with you long after it’s done. Sailesh Kolanu, as a director, is capable of more. The film’s music by Santhosh Narayanan is also a hit-and-miss. While some portions of the background score leave a mark, the soundtrack is mostly a miss. Arya, Jisshu Sengupta, Mukesh Rishi, and others get roles that don’t leave a mark. This is a film that’s strictly okay.