SIKANDAR attempts to deliver a powerful social message

Sikandar Review {2.5/5} & Review Rating

Director: A R Murugadoss 

Sikandar Movie Review Synopsis:
SIKANDAR is the story of a man with a heart of gold. Sanjay Rathod (Salman Khan) belongs to the royal family of Rajkot. He’s happily married to Saisri (Rashmika Mandanna). While flying to Rajkot from Mumbai, Sanjay beats up a man, Arjun (Prateik Babbar) for outraging the modesty of a woman (Neha Iyer). Arjun turns out to be the son of the Home Minister (Sathyaraj). The home minister seethes with rage and deploys a cop, Prakash (Kishore), to nab Sanjay and give him a hard time. Prakash’s attempts are futile as Sanjay is too popular in Rajkot thanks to his humanitarian efforts. Hence, arresting him is next to impossible. Meanwhile, Sanjay’s life takes a shocking turn, and he is compelled to move to Mumbai. As luck would have it, it is also the turf of the home minister, leading to madness and chaos. What happens next forms the rest of the film. 

Sikandar Movie Story Review:
A. R. Murugadoss’ story (story discussion team: G Jagannathan, P Kinslin, N S Ponkumar) holds much promise. A. R. Murugadoss’ screenplay fails to do justice to this superb plot. Except for a few well-etched scenes, the rest of the script is full of loopholes and cinematic liberties. A R Murugadoss’ dialogues (additional dialogues by Rajat Aroraa, Abbas Dalal, Hussain Dalal) are substandard. A film like this needed to have many more hard-hitting and seeti-maar dialogues.

A R Murugadoss’ direction is shockingly disappointing, given his great body of work. He has tried his best to pepper the narrative with loads of crowd-pleasing action and dramatic scenes. There’s also an unexpected moment in the first 45 minutes which will astonish moviegoers. Also, what works the best is Salman Khan’s entry scene. It is terrific, and it’s not there just for the heck of it; it’s also a part of the story.

But after a great start, the film goes downhill. Except for the scene at the hospital and the scene at Vaidehi’s (Kajal Aggarwal) house, the rest of the scenes don’t leave the desired impact. The narrative also seems haphazard; it gives a feeling that several scenes have been chopped off, too badly. Certain developments don’t make sense. The scene where Arjun asks the cameraman to pan the camera on Sanjay defies logic. In another scene, the kid is sitting in the open without his shirt when he has just gotten his lung transplant done. The slum dwellers were poor but they were also benevolent and would not allow a sick child to roam around in such a manner, that too in a polluted environment. The film is replete with such sequences which will be panned by the audience. On top of it, the villain track is weak. A film like this ought to have many more confrontational scenes between the hero and the villain. 

Sikandar Official Trailer – Salman Khan, Rashmika | Sajid Nadiadwala | A.R. Murugadoss

Sikandar Movie Review Performances:
Salman Khan looks dashing and plays a role which is in sync with his ‘Being Human’ image. As a result, his fans will surely lap it up. However, he seems stiff in a few scenes and doesn’t seem to have given his hundred percent. Rashmika Mandanna looks ravishing and is the soul of the film. Sadly, her screen time is limited. Sharman Joshi (Amar), Kishore, and Jatin Sarna (De Niro) lend able support. Sathyaraj fails to impress. Prateik Smita Patil is over the top, but it works for his character. Kajal Aggarwal (Vaidehi) is decent, but her track should have been simplified. Anjini Dhawan (Nisha) and Sulbha Arya (Savithri) are hardly there. Sanjay Kapoor (Sriram) and Nawab Shah (Virat Bakshi) are wasted, while Ayan Khan (Kamaruddin) is cute. Neha Iyer, Dhanya Balakrishna (female staffer in Sikandar’s team), Vishal Vashishtha (Vaidehi’s husband), Vijayant Kohli (Sudarshan), and Rajesh Jhaveri (Seshadri; Vaidehi’s father-in-law) are fair. 

Sikandar movie music and other technical aspects:
Pritam’s music does have a shelf life. ‘Zohra Jabeen’ is the best of the lot as it is catchy and fan-pleasing. The title song is okay. ‘Sikandar Naache’, ‘Bam Bam Bhole’, ‘Hum Aapke’ and ‘Taikhaane Mein’ don’t impress. Santhosh Narayan’s background score is much better and exhilarating.

S Thirunavukarasu’s cinematography is functional. RedChillies.VFX’s VFX is below par. Kevin Kumar’s action is superb. In a rare instance, he has been credited as one would mention a debutant actor. Amit Ray and Subrata Chakraborty’s production design is tacky. Alvira Khan Agnihotri’s costumes for Salman Khan are stylish. Meagan Concessio’s costumes for Rashmika Mandanna are glamorous, but the one she wears in her entry scene is awkward. Puneet Jain’s costumes for the rest of the actors are functional. Vivek Harshan’s editing is not up to the mark. 

Sikandar Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, SIKANDAR attempts to deliver a powerful social message and showcases Salman Khan in a role that’s sure to resonate with his fanbase. However, the impact is diluted by a weak script and erratic direction. At the box office, the film will initially benefit from the Eid holiday and the lack of competition, but sustaining momentum in the long run will be a tough challenge.