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Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s much-anticipated film Sikandar failed to impact the box office despite massive expectations. Director AR Murugadoss has now taken full responsibility for the film’s underperformance, admitting that he could not execute the story the way he had envisioned. The filmmaker also opened up about the difficulties of working with Salman Khan, revealing that the superstar’s late arrival on sets often disrupted the shoot schedule.
Murugadoss Owns Up Sikandar’s Failure
In a candid conversation on Valaipechu Voice’s YouTube podcast, speaking about the film’s reception, Murugadoss explained that the problem lay in execution.
He said, “Actually, the base story is very emotional. It’s about a king who doesn’t truly understand his wife. We are all like that- whether it’s with our mother, friend, or wife, we often don’t value relationships. Only when someone leaves us forever do we feel the weight of guilt. In the film, when the king loses his wife, her organs are donated to three different people. He then seeks them out, trying to fulfil the things he couldn’t do for her. In the process, he befriends an entire village. The story was emotional, but I couldn’t execute it well.”
The filmmaker also compared Sikandar with his earlier blockbuster Ghajini and reflected on why the latter worked while the Salman Khan starrer failed.
“I could pull off Ghajini because it was a remake, not an original script. I had already done it before, so I had complete command. With Sikandar, that wasn’t the case. I’m not saying I won’t return to Hindi cinema; I definitely will if I find my comfort zone. But when the audience can’t connect with my thinking, it affects me deeply.”
Murugadoss on Challenges of Working With Salman Khan
Further, Murugadoss revealed that working with Salman Khan came with its own set of challenges. Calling it “not easy,” he shared that the star’s unique working style often delayed shoots.
The director disclosed that the team would wait until 8:00 pm for Salman to arrive, which forced them to shoot day sequences during the night.
He said, “It’s not easy to shoot with a star. Even day scenes, we have to shoot at night because he turns up to sets only by 8 PM. We are people who are used to shooting right from early mornings, but that’s not how things work there."
Murugadoss furthermore added that the schedule was particularly tough on child artists who struggled to stay awake during late-night shoots.
“I would shoot with kids at 2:00 am even if the scene was them returning from school,” the director recalled, highlighting how Salman’s working style created difficulties for the entire cast and crew.
