#Sikandar Review

#Sikandar

2025- Hindi

Starring : Salman Khan, Rashmika Mandanna , Kajal Aggarwal, Sathyaraj, Sharman Joshi and Kishore

Directed by A.R.Murugadoss

Plot : Sanjay Rajkot, a multi-millionaire and the King of Rajkot, shares a deep bond with his wife, Rani Sai Sri, but his busy life keeps him from giving her the time she deserves. Tragedy strikes when she sacrifices herself during an attack on Sanjay, losing her life in the process. As an organ donor, her organs are given to those in need, and Sanjay, determined to honor her legacy, travels to Mumbai to meet the recipients. There, he encounters three individuals struggling with personal hardships and steps in to support them. Meanwhile, he becomes the target of a ruthless politician seeking revenge for the humiliation and death of his son. As Sanjay helps the organ recipients rebuild their lives, he must also face this deadly adversary, leading to an intense battle where he fights for justice while carrying forward his late wife's selfless legacy.

Performance wise , Salman Khan looks good on screen after multiple duds and perfoms well in 1 or 2 emotional scenes too but unfortunately that isn't enough to salvage this film. Though he has terrific screen presence on action sequences,his monotonous and bland dialogue delivery makes the performance look like sleepwaking. Rashmika gets a pretty solid yet limited role and has done a pretty decent job and surprisingly the age gap between her and Salman is addressed too (not in a very convincing manner but yes). Kajal Aggarwal is merely cast as a Junior Artist and her potential is wasted completely. Sathyaraj as Antagonist is wasted with very bad and pedestrian writing making it as a very dumb and caricaturish villain role. Sharman Joshi gets a very limited role with no scope but has somewhat tried to perform in that. Kishore as the stereotypical Police does a decent job. Prateik Babbar and Jatin Sarma just appear and go with very very cliched and cringe performances.

Technically the film is pretty decent. Thiru's Cinematography is good at parts , especially the usage of Mocobot in Action sequences are good. While Pritam's songs aren't that great, Santhosh Narayanan 's Sikandar theme was fantastic but the repeated usage makes it a bit boring and repetitive. Vivek Harshan's Editing was decent. Special Mention to Kevin Kumar's fantastcially choreographed Action sequences and Art Director for the Slum sets.

The First Half begins with the Introduction of Sanjay Rajkot and his backstory of who he is . While Salman looks decent and Rashmika is good , the pair's chemistry doesn't work that much. Given the fact the core is completely dependent upon their chemistry to move forward, it is just partially engaging. Once the story moves to Mumbai, it just goes without much dragging or unwanted scenes . It moves in the desired pace without boring nor being entertaining but for some reason it doesn't bring the necessary impact needed. The Kajal Agarwal character and the problems she faces are very very stereotypical and cliched which has been addressed multiple times. While the Pre Interval buildup and chase sequence was good, the Interval Bang fails. Overall the First Half somewhat moves.

Unfortunately the Second Half completely fails. Talking about the Negatives of the film , the film suffers from terrible predictability. Neither of the scenes look fresh or original. Even the core plot very much resembles Sarvam (2009 Tamil Film) . Every Murugadoss film atleast will have one standout or something to remember like 12 Men Shootout in Thuppaki, Tunnel Scene in Kaththi , Marudhamalai Sequence from Spyder and Kannula Thimiru from Darbar but unfortunately not even a single scene here in worth remembering. Emotional angle is important for a film that is grounded on Husband -Wife Emotion but that goes for a toss here. Also the Weak Antagonist makes none of the threat seem dangerous. While the Last 25 mins Pre Climax Fight was terrific ,out of a film that runs for 140-150 mins and we say only 20-25 mins then probably you can guess about other scenes.

Coming to Writer Director Murugadoss, though he has a taken a very tried and tested Plotline, he could've atleast woven something different around it. But unfortunately he sticks very much to pedestrian writing to cater the Mass Audience and Salman Fans. But does he atleast suceed in that? Partially Yes , Partially No. While there Salman Fans pleasing dialoues and Mass Scene, it is definitely not enough for such a big film. While the Social Message was something good to convey , the way it was conveyed was bad. Basic writing and bad screenplay bogs this film down and looked as if Salman just wanted to do a film for the sake of it and release it for Eid Slot 2025.

Overall: Sikandar is a terrible mass masala entertainer with a very thin plot line aims to be spearheaded by Salman's terrific screen presence but unfortunately that also falls flat. Watched Sikandar and got "Sick in Andar" . Both Murugadoss and Salman need a Thuppaki or Wanted again to clear this stain in their filmography. 

Highlights:

1)Pre Interval Chase Sequence

2)Pre Climax Hospital Fight

Rating : 1.75-2/5

Digital Rights: Netflix 

Satellite Rights : Zee Cinemas