Sikandar Review: There’s a line in the title song of Prakash Mehra’s classic film ‘Muqaddar Ka Sikandar’, penned by lyricist Anjaan: “We accept this world is an estate of pain, every step chained anew by tears, but he who sings songs of joy to the tune of sorrow, shall be known as the conqueror of fate, my dear…!” Salman Khan’s latest venture, ‘Sikandar’, seems superficially inspired by these lines. However, the core plot idea feels lifted directly from the heart transplant angle in ‘Animal’, and the rest is just… Salman Khan. Ironically, Anjaan’s son, Sameer Anjaan, has written the lyrics for ‘Sikandar’, while the credited music maestro, Pritam, hasn’t delivered a single track that feels like it will last beyond the next Eid. If you’re still determined to watch this film, please read this full review first.
Salman Khan: Once Again, the Royal Highness of Rajkot
There was a time when any Salman Khan film, regardless of quality, guaranteed a packed house for its first show. Films like ‘Jai Ho’, ‘Race 3’, ‘Dabangg 3’, and ‘Tiger 3’ drew crowds simply because of his presence. ‘Sikandar’ attempts to leverage this by releasing on a Sunday. However, with Eid falling on Monday in India this year, the Sunday release saw largely empty cinema halls.
The story picks up roughly where Sooraj Barjatya’s ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ left off a decade ago. Salman Khan is once again a royal figure, Sanjay Rajkot, affectionately called ‘Raja Saab’ by his people. He reportedly owns 25% of the country’s gold reserves. In a vaguely explained plot point, he marries a woman significantly younger than him to save her, but the ‘why’ and ‘how’ remain mysteries unexplained by either the Queen (‘Rani Sahiba’) or the director, AR Murugadoss.
Spot the Difference: Salman or His Double?
Watching ‘Sikandar’, one constantly gets the feeling that Salman Khan isn’t entirely present in the film. While close-ups confirm it’s him, numerous long shots, action sequences, and back-to-camera shots strongly suggest a body double was used extensively. Whether this is an optical illusion or not, it prevents the audience from connecting with Salman’s character. This disconnect is mirrored in the utterly unconvincing love story between Salman Khan and Rashmika Mandanna. We’re told they’re in love, but Raja Saab has no time for his queen. She has to beg for a moment, and in that fleeting instant, she sings a song implying her impending doom (“Tomorrow, this night may or may not be in your fate…”). Naturally, after singing such a song, she must die. Her heart, lungs, and eyes are donated to three different people. Remember ‘Jai Ho’? One good man inspires three others, creating a chain reaction to change the country – that theme echoes here. Notably, ‘Jai Ho’ itself was a remake of AR Murugadoss’s own film ‘Stalin’.
Lost in Nostalgia and Derivative Tropes
To portray Raja Saab as a good man, ‘Sikandar’ introduces Prateik Babbar as a generic rogue, the son of a politician played by Sathyaraj. Neither Babbar possesses any menace as a villain, nor does Sathyaraj embody the persona of a powerful leader. Together, they fail to prop up the film’s weak antagonist department. One wonders what inspires such haphazard screenwriting, but whatever it is, it’s not potent. The story feels like a patchwork quilt – “a brick from here, a stone from there.” It’s hard to imagine what writers Hussain Dalal and Abbas Dalal contributed, a feeling reinforced by the film’s casting choices. Even Rajat Arora’s name appears in the credits, but seemingly just for show.
The story is nonsensical, the screenplay disjointed, and the dialogues feel lifted straight from old Amitabh Bachchan films. What future can such a ‘Sikandar’ (Conqueror) possibly have? A Gujarati-speaking king directly addresses someone in Delhi in Gujarati, and things just happen! It almost makes one want to chant, “This time, the Rajkot government!”
A Difficult Time for Salman Khan
Salman Khan doesn’t seem capable of acting anymore. He rarely did much before, but at least he used to try. Now, he seems to be doing his fans a favor rather than actually performing. Directors who work with him often imply he approaches shoots with the same sense of obligation. Salman Khan has been a huge name in Hindi cinema. Millions fell in love with the ‘Prem’ from ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’. When Prem himself lacks love, how can audiences trust his acting? Yet, fans flock to every film, perhaps hoping ‘Bhaijaan’ will finally, like Shah Rukh or Aamir, bare his soul and declare his love for his audience. Only Salman Khan himself can perhaps remind Salman Khan of what he once was. Does he ever rewatch ‘Tere Naam’ or ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’?
AR Murugadoss Fails to Deliver
It’s becoming increasingly clear that director AR Murugadoss’s success with Aamir Khan’s ‘Ghajini’ might have been a stroke of luck. His subsequent Hindi films – ‘Holiday’, ‘Akira’, and now ‘Sikandar’ – suggest a pattern. When the ringmaster is weak, even the smallest circus performers start thinking they’re invincible. This is evident in ‘Sikandar’. Murugadoss assembled a large cast but failed to extract a single convincing performance. Every actor seems to be running a shop of overacting. Rashmika Mandanna’s expressions suggest she believes her name alone is enough to make the film a hit – perhaps a confidence born from the success of ‘Animal’.
The music is, well, “Mashallah” in the sarcastic sense. Producers like Sajid Nadiadwala rarely seem to experiment with new lyricists and composers. Taking advantage of this, music ‘maestro’ Pritam and lyricist Sameer Anjaan have delivered a soundtrack for ‘Sikandar’ that would be a miracle if anyone remembers it by next Eid.
In conclusion, take good care of yourselves, and Eid Mubarak to you all! But perhaps celebrate it by skipping this film.
