Sikandar Movie Review : Sikandar is let down by a weak plot and a tedious narrative

Story: The king of Rajkot takes on a powerful minister and embarks on a mission to protect the recipients of his late wife’s organs—preserving her memory at all costs.

Review: Sanjay Rajkot (Salman Khan), the generous and courageous king of Rajkot, is fondly known as Sikandar or Raja saab by his people. His clash with a powerful minister (Sathyaraj) leads to the tragic death of his beloved wife, Saisri (Rashmika Mandanna). Before passing away, she donates her organs to three individuals in Mumbai. In a ruthless attempt to erase her memory and break Sanjay’s spirit, the minister targets the recipients—a young boy from the Dharavi slums who receives her lungs, a CA topper whose dreams are stifled by her orthodox father-in-law and receives her eyes, and a college girl heartbroken in love and also with a weak heart. The film follows Sanjay’s journey as he protects them from harm while helping transform their lives.

A Salman Khan movie is a genre in itself, and you know what to expect—gravity-defying action, larger-than-life heroism, and punchy dialogues. Written and directed by A Murugadoss, this actioner checks all these boxes but suffers from an underwhelming plot and cliched narrative. Sikandar is the expected righteous, brave, and invincible figure typical of both the genre and a Salman Khan massive Eid release. He saves 6,000 Dharavi residents by arranging their treatment, empowers a homemaker (Kajal Agarwal), and helps a lost in love college girl. Amid all this, he battles the minister’s henchmen.

The predictable storyline is paired with a generic background score by Santhosh Narayanan. Kevin Kumar’s action direction is limited, with no jaw-dropping, extraordinary stunts to impress you. The few action sequences feel repetitive, with slow-motion shots, flying goons, and exploding cars.

Salman Khan drives the film with his signature star power. He strives to deliver an emotional, action-packed performance, but the sluggish narrative holds him back, while throwing in some over-the-top dialogues like, “Ab insaaf ki nahi, inhe saaf karne ki zaroorat hai.” Rashmika Mandanna has a few scenes and some songs, but the problem is not that. Overall, she has a strong screen presence but doesn’t have much to perform or elevate the scenes she appears in. Vatsan Chakravarthi plays a corrupt cop and fits the role well. The surprise element is Sharman Joshi as Salman’s loyal aide—he holds his own opposite the superstar, delivering a restrained and impactful act.

The story and the narrative are the biggest letdown of this larger-than-life movie; even if they are trying to draw in die-hard Salman Khan fans, we wish they had taken the action notches higher. A few standout punches and stunts here and there could have probably salvaged this one.

Sikandar box office collection Day 1: Salman Khan starrer makes a splash with Rs 26 crore debut