You don’t need much from a Salman Khan movie for the movie hall to turn into a stadium with ceetis, taalis and cheers. And there are plenty of moments in Salman’s Eid release Sikandar to send his fans into a tizzy. But unfortunately, even those maar-dhaar ‘bhai’ moments are not enough to make his first big release since Tiger 3 (2023) less tiresome.
Salman plays Sanjay Rajkot, the last heir of the Rajkot royal family, who is much loved by his subjects but is often in danger because of his habit of teaching goons a lesson, mostly through physical violence. Sanjay, also called Sikandar and Rajasaab, has half-a-dozen bodyguards, but the one who does the protecting is his much younger wife Saisri, played by Rashmika Mandanna. When Sanjay tangles with Arjun (Prateik Babbar), the spoilt son of Mumbai minister Pradhan (Sathyaraj), his life takes an unexpected turn. He loses his wife and to deal with the grief he hunts down and takes care of those people in Mumbai who have received Saisri’s organs, which puts him on a collision course with Pradhan. Yes, it is formulaic and yes, there is very little logic, but that is not something fans expect from a Salman film.
As expected from any ‘bhai’ film, there is a dhasu, and in this case ‘turbulent’, entry sequence in which he beats up Prateik Babbar on a plane. What follows are more such sequences where the action choreography becomes more and more elaborate with each one. A family entertainer means a surprising lack of blood and gore in all the maar-dhaar, but blood and gore works at the box office, so the film makes up for it in an overly bloody climax. There are the ceeti-taali dialogues, but the best ones, including the Deewar-inspired “Aap humein baahar dhoond rahe ho, aur hum aapke ghar mein intezaar kar rahein hai”, were already used up in the trailer.
Salman Khan still has the charisma and his entry into any frame is as impactful as one could expect. But he looks tired all throughout the film and is stiff in both the action and song-and-dance sequences. He has one expression, and is especially weak in the emotionally charged scenes. The film, in sticking to things that Salman can do blind, fails to explore what he is capable of doing and utilise his star power fully.
The magic of the South, which seems to work for Bollywood whether it is Nayanthara and Atlee for Jawan or Sandeep Reddy Vanga and Rashmika Mandanna for Animal, is on full display with director A.R. Murugadoss’ stylish action sequences and treatment. But with a poorly stitched together film this might not be enough to make this a pan-India success. Even South stars like Rashmika and Sathyaraj (yes, far better known as Katappa from Baahubali), who should have added to the appeal, fail to do much. Rashmika, who once again plays the wife of an alpha male, does have a little more agency than in her past Bollywood roles, but has very little screen time. Sathyaraj is absolutely wasted on a poorly written unidimensional villain, who fails to pose any kind of threat.
The BGM with its pulsating beats works well to highlight the action on screen and songs like Zohra Jabeen and Bum Bum Bhole are catchy enough to get your foot tapping but not enough to make up for the drag the rest of the film is.
Sikandar might rake it in at the box office, but it is mostly a ‘fans only’ film and even then a one-time watch only.