Seven months after the release of the action thriller Sikandar, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has finally broken his silence, hitting back at director AR Murugadoss over allegations that he repeatedly arrived late on set and disrupted the film’s shoot.
Director’s Post-Release Criticism
In a surprising post-release interview, Sikandar director AR Murugadoss aired grievances about Salman Khan’s alleged lack of punctuality during the shoot. According to Murugadoss, the actor would reportedly show up on set only by 8 PM, even when the team was scheduled to shoot daytime scenes. He claimed this led to the use of green screens and heavy VFX to simulate natural daylight. Salman Addresses Sikandar
During Bigg Boss Appearance
During the episode, comedian Ravi Gupta joined Salman and asked him to reflect on the films he regrets doing. Salman admitted to having second thoughts about early-career films like Suryavanshi (1992) and Nishchay (1992), but when asked about any recent regrets, he made it clear that Sikandar wasn’t one of them.
When Ravi wondered if there were any in recent times, Salman mentioned, “Nayi mein se koi nahi hai… log kehte hain Sikandar par main nahi manta, uska plot bahut acha tha (I don’t regret doing any film in the recent times. People do say it can be Sikandar, but I don’t believe that. The plot of the film was good).”
Following this, Salman slammed AR Murugadoss for his comments after Sikandar’s failure at the box office. Salman said in a sarcastic tone, “Lekin kya hai na mein main set pe raat ke 9 baje pahuchta tha, toh usme gadbad ho gayi. Meri pasaliyan tooti thi, isne jo hamare director (AR Murugadoss) sahab hain unhone ye kaha. Lekin unki picture (Madharaasi) abhi ek release hui hai jisme actor 6 baje pahuchta tha (I used to arrive on sets by 9 PM and that created issues. This is what the director said but my rib was broken. Recently, another picture of his was released, and the actor of the film used to reach the set by 6).”
Salman also spoke about producer Sajid Nadiadwala and Murugadoss trying to escape the criticism for the film. “Toh pahle toh ye picture thi Murugadoss aur Sajid Nadiadwala ki. Uske baad Sajid pahle kalti, Murugadoss wapas se hat gaya wahan se seedha South mein picture ki (Initially the film belonged to Murugadoss and Sajid Nadiadwala but later Sajid escaped. Then, Murugadoss also left and made a film in South),” added Salman.
Salman went on to take an indirect jibe at Madharaasi’s box office failure, saying,“Madharaasi karke picture unhone direct ki hai jo ki release hui, bahut badi film hai aur utni hi badi….(smiles), Sikandar se badi blockbuster (He has directed a film called Madharaasi. It is a very big and a bigger blockbuster than Sikandar).”
Released on 30th March 2025, Sikandar told the emotional story of Rajkot’s king Sanjay Rajkot (played by Salman Khan) and his journey to protect three people who had received organ donations from his late wife, portrayed by Rashmika Mandanna.
