Salman Khan’s latest Eid offering puts you to sleep

There are good films, not-so-good films and then there are Salman Khan films. Unless one is an ardent fan of the actor, one has to tread with caution when one is watching a Salman Khan film. You know you must ignore logic, practicality and even technical finesse while watching Salman’s films. His latest Eid release, Sikandar, has Salman Khan once again in a larger-than-life role, flexing muscles at regular intervals and helping those in need at other times. But is the AR Murugadoss film worth a watch? Let’s find out.

Plot of Sikandar

In a world of evil politicians and corrupt officials, Sikandar aka Sanjay Rajkot is a man of principles and a do-gooder. He may not follow the rules, has cases piled up against him, but he is revered as the King of Rajkot, and his people (praja) are ready to fight for him in order to protect him. 

A mid-air scuffle with Prateik Babbar- who plays the son of a Mumbai politician- leads to the cops and the politician himself go after him. In Rajkot, the authorities are not able to touch him. He has an army to protect him. However, one fateful night, his wife, Sai Shree (Rashmika Mandanna), gets killed. Mourning her death, Sikandar then goes to Mumbai to meet the recipients of his dead wife’s organs, but with goons, politicians and police after him- will he be able to meet the recipients and help them forms the rest of the story.

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Salman has aged and looks tired

Sikandar obviously has been made to glorify  Salman Khan. And while he flexes his muscles and takes on goons double his size through the film, the actor looks tired. Khan, who was reportedly nursing a rib injury during the making of the film, seems to have aged. Khan is no longer in top form – his dancing, his stunts seem to have been designed keeping in mind the actor’s age and injuries, and yet he is unable to do justice to the task in hand. 

Salman also sleepwalks through his role. In some of the most crucial scenes where the actor is expected to emote, Salman’s performance is flat and doesn’t uplift the convoluted story which has been written by Murugadoss. 

Since Salman is so below average in the film, the rest of the actors, including leading lady Rashmika Mandanna and actor Sharman Joshi, try hard to uplift the film with equally mediocre performances. The film also features Kajal Aggarwal, who almost seems like a robot delivering dialogues. Anjani Dewan is very limited in an over-the-top character. Equally hammy are Prateik Babbar and veteran Telugu star Sathyaraj as the antagonists. 

The first half of the film takes too long to establish the plot as Sikandar meanders around Mumbai city looking for the people who have his wife’s organs. You almost think it’s a story of repentance, but in the second half, when the action begins, the film starts becoming incoherent. By the time the film reaches its climax- with all the key characters gathering in one place- the film has completely lost its plot. 

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A moment in the film has a crowd- cordoned off at an enclosure- watching Salman take on 200 goons single-handedly. No one steps forward to help him even though they look disturbed and scared, but they watch on as Salman uses showels and blades to hack the mean guys. 

The sub-plots are not well established and some of the characters come and go arbitrarily. 

The Pan-India template

Sikandar also falls in the template of what we nowadays call a Pan-India film where Bollywood stars work in a film which is helmed by a south filmmaker and has elements of south massy actioners. And so the action sequences will be rustic in nature. No guns or bazookas, heroes take on the villains with knives, shovels and swords. Elements which have been used in blockbusters previously and hence deemed as fit for any Pan-India template. The heroines too are from the south, making it a film that will draw crowds in the north as well as the south. 

Sadly, the template is now losing its sheen, and Sikandar is a prime example of that. The leading man looks tired, the heroine paired opposite him is trying too hard to make the pair look great and the film has more cringe moments than ones that can make you laugh or enjoy. 

Sikandar releases a day before Eid with the intent to appeal to the family audience, but after a wholesome meal with family, the film will serve as the perfect lullaby for afternoon siesta. 

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