It's been eight years since Salman Khan did a genuinely good film and while fans eagerly wait for Salman's comeback, it seems like Bhai is more interested in prolonging the wait. Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and directed by the veteran A R Murugadoss, Sikandar stars Salman Khan, Rashmika Mandanna, Sathyaraj, Sharman Joshi and Prateik Babbar in the lead roles while Sanjay Kapoor, Kajal Aggarwal and Nawab Shah star in supporting roles.
Basic Story- Sanjay Rajkot (Salman Khan) tries to take care of three unknown families in Mumbai for personal reasons, who have become a target of Minister Rakesh Pradhan (Sathyaraj).
Positives
There are very less positives for me in this film and I'll try my best to present them properly.
Salman Khan in action scenes
A R Murugadoss is known for experimenting something new with action scenes and Sikandar somehow manages to enter into the said category. Whacky camera movements and some cool mocobot shots are the lifeline for majority of the action scenes, and the action in itself (although slow- moed to the extent where the intensity fades) is pretty decent to watch. Salman Khan is presented in an okay-ish manner in the action scenes and although nothing's 'out of the box' or 'never seen before', a handful of 'wanna be' mass moments in all the action scenes of the film combined together feels enjoyable. Also, the colour grading has been nice in the action scenes, which elevated the action scenes a bit and saved them from looking fake.
Underwhelming Aspects
Performances
Seemed like everyone in this film were competing with each other on how worse they can act. Performances are real bad in this film; so much so that you will lose your mind and get mad at every scene as the film progresses. Salman Khan literally sleepwalked in the entire film and apart from the action scenes and a very few emotional scenes, even his screen presence slept throughout. His bloated figure, seemingly tipsy dialogue delivery and 'Big Boss-esque' choice of costumes really look bad. The less you talk about Rashmika the better, because she's so irritating in the film. Her bad hindi accent coupled with her overdone dialogue delivery feels so fake, like come on, you could have easily dubbed her voice Mr Murugadoss. Sathyaraj is reduced to such a cartoon, with that fake conical 'extra shiny' bald head which looks like an egg; laughable at best. Things become even more funnier when you see the close-up shots of Sathyaraj delivering his dialogues with his mouth wide open; it's crazy how fake that looks! The unusual but insane lip-sync problem throughout the film was already an issue, but it affected Sathyaraj the most, especially in those 'open mouthed' close up shots. Only the child actor Ayan Khan as 'Kamaruddin' and Jatin Sarna as 'De Niro the taxi driver' (sounds cool right?) have performed well, but the overall performances of the lead actors will remind you of some early 2010's Tamil masala films, and the film thus feels outdated.
Direction, Screenplay and Technicalities
It's hard to believe what Murugadoss has done with the screenplay. While the basic idea of the film was good, it's the writing that nosedived the film. The screenplay is literally all over the place, and you do not understand why certain things happen in the story. Even if you try to understand and tie some loose ends, the horrible and obnoxiously haphazard editing makes sure that you sit like a fool throughout the film and get exhausted top to toe. The editing makes the entire film look like Instagram reels on different topics piled up on each other. This screenplay makes absolute no sense in 2025, as it's devoid of any high moments, mass appeal, and even punchline dialogues! The direction has gone for a toss as well with no Murugadoss touch present in the film whatsoever. Several unnecessarily put-together scenes feels to have been directed by Salman Khan himself keeping the occasion of Eid in mind, and that heavily undermines this already flawed film. The songs are weirdly inserted into the screenplay and it's sad to see an unfit Salman Khan dancing (or whatever he's doing) in a palace, right after beating the shit out some people somewhere near a railway crossing. Sathyaraj as the villain is caricaturish and there isn't any tussle with Salman Khan. Both become sworn enemies after an abnormal sub-plot and what continues is a screenplay where Salman Khan enters the houses of villains, abruptly beats them, imparts some philosophy, and leaves. Even the bgm by Santhosh Narayanan fails to make any significant impact. Everything's so messed up and Salman khan does everything so easily, that you'll feel the film is a 'being human' promotional video.
Conclusion
Nothing seems right for Sikandar and while the mass audiences will flock into the theatres to witness Bhai doing same things that he's done a million times before, the collections will surely see a mammoth decline after the first week. It's just that Sikandar somehow manages to stay in the 'dull' category of films because had it been longer even by ten minutes, it would've been an absolute crashing bore. While 100 crores domestic collection isn't difficult for Salman to reach with even the worst of his films (courtesy his loyal fan base), it's more important for him to work on a genuinely good script now. Sikandar is any day better than some of Salman's previous releases (except Tiger 3), but it's not a good film by any stretch of imagination. Outdated and average one time watch films like Sikandar will not solve the purpose as the bar (even for mainstream commercial Hindi cinema) is quite high in recent times. We know what you're capable of Salman Bhai, please come back with a proper script which aligns with today's commercial cinema; 'Kayede mein raho, fayede mein raho'.
Watch Out For
The action scenes
WTF Rating
5/10