Ikka Review: A Decent Courtroom Drama with a Bumpy Middle and a Powerful Finish
Rating: 3/5 Suyog Zore
In his iconic 1993 cult classic Damini, Sunny Deol delivered the legendary, thunderous monologue championing a sexual assault survivor: "Tarikh pe tarikh...". But in Siddharth Malhotra's courtroom drama 'Ikka' however, he occupies the opposite side of the aisle—defending a man accused of sexual assault and attempted murder. And although it's nowhere close to cult classics like Damini, it delivers a decent, one-time watch that recovers from a sluggish second act to finish strong with a gripping climax.
The film opens with a sharp monologue by Arjun Mehra (Sunny Deol), the city's most formidable defense attorney, addressing a room of law students. He presents a chilling hypothetical: Imagine a luxury car racing through Pune at 220 km/hr. It’s driven by a rich, spoilt brat who mows down homeless people sleeping on the pavement and kills three. What do you think the court will decide? Now just think about the same thing – but this time it's a truck driver and not a luxury car. Are they equal under the law? The real-world case Arjun mentions is painfully obvious. Don’t worry, there is more meat and words in this review than the short 300 words essay written by the 17-year-old who rammed his father's Porsche into two Pune techies in May, killing them on the spot.
Arjun is a man of who believes in supporting what is right. He and his lawyer firm has fought the cases for people who deserved justice. But certain circumstances forced this righteous man to defend Shauryamann (Akshaye Khanna), son of a powerful politician, who is accused of attempting to murder Soma Mittal (Akansha Ranjan). Shauryamann is a spoilt man, who doesn't respect anyone, including his wife and father. Arjun is pitted against Madhura (Tilottama Shome), a lawyer from middle class family, who becomes the sole breadwinner of her family when her husband loses his job. Madhura is a senior lawyer but she had never worked on a case of this magnitude. She’s the ultimate underdog and the public has her back. But she's up against an undefeated legal giant who's cornered and will do anything to win.
Definitely the best part of 'Ikka' is the beginning, particularly the first forty minutes. The movie is good at portraying the heavy struggle going on in Arjun’s mind. He’s been a good, honest lawyer all his life who fought for what was right. Watching him slowly cave to pressure and agree to defend a bad person feels very real and very emotional. In these scenes the director avoided loud screaming and fake drama; instead we get moments of quiet power where we can actually see Arjun fighting with his own conscience. Sunny Deol acts beautifully here showing a lot of deep sadness and guilt, rather than just anger. Because the movie spends so much time developing his character in the early parts, the audience really feels the weight of his difficult choice. This powerful opening pulls you in and has you rooting for his journey even though we know that he is fighting for a terrible person. And we begin supporting him before the actual court trial begins.
However, the momentum starts to slow down significantly once the actual courtroom trial begins, and the film begins to lose its grip on the audience. In recent years, we have been treated to so many brilliant, realistic courtroom dramas and shows that our expectations are incredibly high. Unfortunately, the court scenes in 'Ikka' feel quite unrealistic and staged by comparison. This is even more obvious when different people take the witness stand. Whether they are an eyewitness, a doctor, a police officer or a relative, their cross-examinations look way too glossy and "filmy". They don’t look like real professionals or traumatised people giving a testimony, but actors playing a role in a movie. The gritty tone of the first forty minutes begins to wear thin, because everything feels so slick and rehearsed, and it’s difficult to stay completely engaged in the middle section of the movie. Arjun and Madhura’s back-and-forth arguments and the frequent interruptions of the judge seem too scripted and not like a real courtroom battle.
Luckily, the film regains some its lost momentum in the last half hour and it’s intense finish. Just when the courtroom drama starts to get a bit too predictable, the writers Althea Kaushal, Mayank Tewari take it up a notch and make the battle personal. Things pick up the pace and the stakes are unbelievably high for either side. What makes this final leg so gripping is the unpredictable psychological chess between Arjun & Madhura. The writers build real tension well, and have us on the edge of our seats, anxious to see who is going to pull out the ultimate ikka to win the case. Just when you think one side or the other has a clear upper hand, a new revelation or a clever legal trick turns the whole power equation on its head. This rapid escalation adds yet another burst of energy to the story ensuring that the film ends on a high note, leaving a powerful, lasting impression after the climax.
'Ikka' misses a big opportunity in the way it handles Dia Mirza’s character. She is the wife of Arjun but her character seems very under developed, mostly sidelined and has very less to do in the overall story. Besides, the movie barely scratches the surface of the relationship between Arjun and his daughter. Arjun is a man torn between his legal duties and his personal morals. A glimpse of his bond with his daughter could have added a beautiful emotional layer to the narrative. The internal struggle would have felt twice as heavy if the writers had taken the time to show how his difficult decisions affected his family, especially his daughter.
On the performances, the cast does a mixed but mostly solid job. Sunny Deol is more than capable and the script doesn’t really ask him to do anything too innovative. He anchors the film beautifully especially during his characters' intense moments of emotional turmoil. Tilottama Shome does a great job of playing the underdog lawyer who finds herself in the biggest legal battle of her life, going up against him. She does a beautiful job of showing the vulnerability and lack of confidence that comes with facing a legendary opponent, making her character very relatable. Akshaye Khanna however seems to be repeating himself. His unique body language and his style of hiding his neck are quite similar to his last role in Dhurandhar (2025). It makes you want him to bring something new to this villainous character. Meanwhile Dia Mirza does a decent job with limited material, bringing in warmth in her role of a concerned mother and wife and Sanjeeda Sheikh manages to make a strong impact despite very limited screen time, truly shining in a couple of crucial scenes towards the film's final act.
On a technical level, the film is a mixed bag. While the cinematography adequately depicts both heated trial scenes and gentle personal moments, the sound design is flawed. The loud, too dramatic background score drowns out the emotional sequences, notably Arjun's internal moral issues. Because these scenes are already well-written and well acted, the overly dramatic music detracts from rather than enhances the raw performances.
Ultimately, 'Ikka' is a decent one-time watch that can stand on its despite some shaky writing in the middle. It doesn't quite reach the legendary status of a classic like Damini, but a gripping first forty minutes, and a highly intense final act keep us interested.
Cast: Sunny Deol, Akshayee Khanna, Tilottama Shome, Diya Mirza
Writers: Althea Kaushal, Mayank Tewari
Director: Siddharth Malhotra
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