Shoot on Sight (2007)

Director:

Jag Mundhra

Writers:

Pervaiz Alam (script consultant and additional dialogue)
Carl Austin (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 August 2008 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Is it a crime to be a Muslim?

Plot:

A suspense drama dealing with the current terrorism attacks in UK through a London Metropolitan Police Officer of Muslim heritage who must display courage and persevere in his duties in face of family conflict.

Plot Keywords:

Scotland Yard | Police | Suicide Bomber | Terrorism | Bombing

Cast

Naseeruddin Shah	...	Police Commander Tariq Ali
Greta Scacchi	...	Susan Ali
Brian Cox	...	Daniel Tennant
Stephen Greif	...	Commander John Shepherd
Om Puri	...	Junaid
Gulshan Grover	...	Yunus
Chris Wilson	...	Police CO19 Officer
Sadie Frost	...	Fiona Monroe
Mikaal Zulfikar	...	Zaheer Khan
Laila Rouass	...	Ruby Kaur
Jayson Whiteley	...	Police Officer
India Wadsworth	...	Zara Ali
Arrun Harker	...	Imran Ali
Tolga Safer	...	Aziz
Clifford Samuel	...	Elijah

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence and language.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | Hindi

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Charing Cross Underground Station, Charing Cross, London, England, UK

Company:

Aron Govil Productions

Chilling and incisive thriller about Islamic terrorism

I watched the film 'Shoot On Sight' at Dubai festival and I must say it was one of the best films I have ever seen on the rise of Islamic terrorism in the 21st century. No western filmmaker, so far, has been able to understand why Islamic terrorists blast others and kill themselves. But director Jag Mundhra depicts the diatribe of hate-preachers in a powerful as well as chilling style. Om Puri's performance as Imam gives you goose pimples, particularly, when he incites mobs not to treat westerners innocents. He puts a spin on who is and who isn't innocent. He asks that those who kill and maim in Iraq and Palestine- are they innocent? I came out of the theatre so shocked and well-informed in a positive way.

The great thing about 'Shoot On Sight' is its pace. It moves like a taut thriller but at the same time offers incisive understanding of how Islamic terrorists are recruited. And, yet the film is largely sympathetic to Islam and its followers.

The film offers memorable performances by Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri. Greta Scacchi, Ralph Ineson, Brian Cox and Laila Rouass also came up with credible performances. Sadie Frost, I'm sorry to say, was disappointing and so was the music of the film leaving much to be desired. Frost was expression less and Altman's music had no Islamic or for that matter South Asian soul.

I'll give four stars out of five to 'Shoot On Sight' because it documents the menace of Islamic terrorism in such a powerful, entertaining and yet