Sikandar is the first movie in my short career as a film critic that has me at a loss for words. No, seriously, I don’t know what I should write here. It seems pointless to even try and analyze Salman Khan’s latest “blockbuster” because everyone involved, from director AR Murugadoss to the spotboy, has made such an utterly boring and uninspired film that I genuinely have nothing to say. What’s the story about? Sanjay Rajkot’s wife, Saisri, dies in a freak accident, and her organs are donated to 3 people in Mumbai who are facing a variety of problems in their personal lives. So, Sanjay shows up to take care of them. That’s when he is spotted by Arjun, the pervert son of Minister Pradhan, and while trying to nab Sanjay, Arjun dies. Hence, Minister Pradhan uses Inspector Prakash and the thugs on his payroll to terrorize Sanjay and the donees who received Saisri’s organs. That’s it. Even if you haven’t watched the film, you know how it’s going to end. There’s no underlying commentary there. No thought-provoking scenes or dialogue. It’s just an excuse to “celebrate” Salman. Therefore, what’s even the point of talking about it? Just watch the slopfest, eat at the food court, go home, and go to sleep.
I am pretty sure that Salman Khan doesn’t read my reviews. If he does, he probably has an answer to my question: Does Salman Khan even want to act anymore? But until he gets around to my article, I hope some of his hardcore fans can give me an answer because I want to know what’s going on with him. I have been watching his films since Andaz Apna Apna. I have danced to “O Oh Jaane Jaana” countless times. There was a phase where I had centered my whole personality around Hello Brother. I feel that Dabangg was the last movie that he actually gave a damn about putting on a show for the audience. His acting in everything after that has ranged from tolerable to unwatchable. And, look, every actor enters a bad phase in their career. Salman Khan is no different. However, it seems like he has no intention of bringing an end to his flop era. He just wants to sleepwalk through everything he is in. Now, I would’ve understood his decision to be nonchalant regarding what the critics are saying about his performances because he is raking in the big bucks. That’s not the case anymore since Radhe, though. So, what’s going to wake him up from his slumber? Does he want to wake up from his slumber? Does he need to?
When it comes to art (yes, even commercial masala films are art), I don’t think most people are in it just for the money. I also understand that without money, it’s impossible to attain a sustainable lifestyle as an artist. There’s a line that one has to walk, and I guess Salman Khan is just not interested in finding said line. He can take a page out of his father Salim Khan’s book since he has written movies that were commercially successful and are still quoted by the general audience (which I believe is the highest achievement of a film). But I don’t see any sign that Salman wants to do so. So, why does he want to keep acting in films? He looks too bored to care about the limelight. He doesn’t seem to care if he is in some kind of a competition with his peers or rising stars. He doesn’t want to challenge himself, break genre norms, put the Hindi film industry on the global stage, or do anything to evolve his art. He apparently wants to keep showing up on the big screen, as if he is obligated to do so, hang around one of his farmhouses, and then repeat the cycle again. And until and unless he stops, I don’t think I can stop “reviewing” his films.
I know that some people will defend Salman’s acting duds by either bringing up the box-office numbers or putting the onus on the writer, the director, the cameraman… basically anyone but Salman himself. In that case, you have to understand that, generally speaking, stars of Salman’s stature are very insecure and hence they are control freaks. They usually try to keep a vice grip on every department of the project they are working on so that they look better than anyone else. The rest of the cast and crew can yap all they want about how the superstar is punctual, humble, dedicated, or a “director’s actor” and whatnot, but typically, the superstar hijacks the project. I believe Salman is no different. However, he doesn’t take the wheel to steer the film in the right direction; he does it to fool around. When he is feeling like it, he follows the steps of a dance number. If he is in the mood, he swings his feet and legs a little, and the action sequence is choreographed around it. He emotes if he wants to, not because the screenplay needs him to. And that’s fine; if he wants to burn through crores of money to document his recreational activities instead of telling a story, that’s Salman and his producer’s choice. But how long does Salman think that people who have to come pass their time at the movie theater will pay to watch him do some “timepass”?
Salman Khan isn’t the only geriatric actor hogging the spotlight for reasons known only to them. Nandamuri Balakrishna, Chiranjeevi, Akshay Kumar, Ravi Teja, Sunny Deol, Shah Rukh Khan, Venkatesh Daggubati, and Ajay Devgn are some of the names that come to mind. Regardless of how much I like the work of these guys, I can acknowledge that in every movie that they do, there’s at least a handful of scenes where they come alive and remind you why you became a fan of theirs in the first place. The unfortunate thing about Salman is that he isn’t eager to put that level of effort into his acting. Since he brings that kind of energy to the table, everyone else also gets affected by it too. Rashmika Mandanna, Sharman Joshi, Sathyaraj, Prateik Patil, Kajal Aggarwal, Kishore, Jatin Sarna, and Sanjay Kapoor all seem to be giving the worst performances of their careers because they can’t do anything to overshadow Salman (and his ego), and they can’t be as lazy as him; hence, they are stuck in this awkward position. The songs are bad; the only good one (“Har Dil Ka Wo EK Dilawar”) hasn’t been released yet, for some reason. The action is forgettable. And that’s Sikandar for you.
To be honest, Sikandar could’ve been a decent 90-minute-long flick. The premise of a grieving husband trying to do right by his dead wife in a city that doesn’t know him and getting ambushed by a powerful politician, thereby forcing him to test whether he is worth anything without his royal status, is good. With some raw action, tense moments, and gut-wrenching emotions—you know, stuff that Murugadoss is synonymous with—this could’ve been watchable. But I suppose Salman Khan had other plans, and I really want to know what those plans were. On paper, Salman Khan is an actor, and he is in the movie business. However, everything about his demeanor says that he doesn’t want to do this anymore. Why so? What does he want to do if he doesn’t want to act? Why doesn’t he retire from acting if he doesn’t want to act? What is his goddamn deal, man? If anybody close to Salman is reading this, please pass on my queries to him. Anyway, watch Sikandar if you want to. Don’t watch it if you don’t want to; you’re not missing out on anything. Go and check out L2: Empuraan because, at the very least, it’s bonkers enough to be entertaining, which is something that Sikandar is most definitely not.
