Rashmika Mandanna breaks silence on Salman Khan's Sikandar failure: What I signed was different, things changed during the making'

With its disappointing theatrical run, the high-profile collaboration Sikandar—starring Salman Khan and Rashmika Mandanna—has come to a close. Many were critical of the film's plot and the lack of chemistry between the leads, but moviegoers didn't seem to like A.R. Murugadoss's return to Hindi cinema after over a decade.

What did Rashmika Mandanna reveal about Sikandar original script?

Mandanna recently discussed her decision to star in the project in an interview with Telugu journalist Prema, implying that the end result differed greatly from the original proposal. The actor reflected on the production's evolution and how the story she agreed to wasn't always the one that made it to the big screen. "Sikandar, I remember talking to Murugadoss sir; of course, later what happened was very different… But when I heard the script, it was indeed quite a different script," Rashmika remarked.

She went on to describe how a director's initial concept can change due to several circumstances over the extensive filming and post-production phases of a film. Mandanna added, "Generally that happens with films. When you listen to something, it is one story that you have listened to… But over the making of the film, things change according to the performances, according to the edits, and according to the time of the release. Things change, and that is very common. So that happened with Sikandar."

ALSO READ: Sikandar Review: Salman Khan’s masterclass on how to take your audience for granted

How did netizens react to Rashmika Mandanna's interview?

Netizens wasted little time analysing the film's box office bombs after seeing the interview snippets again on Reddit. Many fans felt that the protagonists were mismatched, and the lack of romantic chemistry between them was a common topic of discussion on the internet.

Regarding chemistry, "Who cares, as chemistry was 0" was the opinion of one individual. "Nothing could have saved this disaster... Bhai's acting was lazy, and he seemed so disinterested… And they were looking like a father-daughter pair on top of that. Along with that horrible remake of Lagg Jaa Gale, this film was doomed from the beginning," another user commented about the production.

How did editing impact Sikandar's final story?

Another user added that while editing, specific criticisms highlighted technical shortcomings. Following censor cuts, they significantly trimmed the film by over 20 minutes. These changes utterly derailed the plot and development of the story... There was zero plot point involving the antagonist and his son. Even though they were running behind schedule and Khan was ill, the film was still forced into an Eid release, which ruined it.

"The dance and songs seemed longer than her speaking parts," one user said, while others were more direct, questioning whether Mandanna's "potentially strong role" was cut. They also mentioned that, despite being a fortunate turn of events, the movie itself was terrible.

What is the plot of Sikandar?

The plot of Sikandar revolved around King Sanjay Rajkot (Salman Khan), who vowed to safeguard the organ donors who had benefited from his late wife Saishri's (Rashmika Mandanna) generosity. According to data from Sacnilk, the film only made ₹185 crore globally, even though it had a reported budget of ₹200 crore.

Sathyaraj, Kajal Aggarwal, Prateik Babbar, and Sharman Joshi were all part of the ensemble supporting cast, although critics thought that they were mostly underused in the film's final edit.

Sikandar FAQs:

Q: Is Sikandar a hit or a flop?

A: Sikandar is considered a box office failure. Despite a massive budget of ₹200 crore, the film only managed to gross approximately ₹176–185 crore worldwide.

Q: Who is the main villain in Sikandar?

A: The primary antagonist of Sikandar is Rakesh Pradhan, a corrupt and vengeful politician played by Sathyaraj.

Q: Where can I watch Sikandar on OTT?

A: Sikandar is currently available for streaming on Netflix.