Kamal Ghorui
Salman Khan‘s ‘Sikandar’ was made on a massive budget of Rs 200 crore as per reports but managed to collect only about Rs 176 crore worldwide. The film’s failure continues to be spoken about. It was directed by AR Murugadoss and months after the release, the director had attributed the film’s underperformance to Salman’s alleged lack of punctuality and commitment during the shoot. However, later, Salman had denied these claims in his own witty, sarcastic way. Now, actor Jatin Sarna, who appeared in the film as a taxi driver, has spoken up in Salman’s defence. Sharing his perspective in an interview with The Lallantop, Sarna said, “I seriously can’t pinpoint the failure on any one thing. I just know that everyone was working hard. I call Salman sir Seth. So, Seth is very hardworking. He used to come on time and work very hard. The director’s vision was shaping up very well at that time. If you analyze it that way, it’s a very wonderful story.”
The actor also spoke about the support he received from Salman on set. “I seriously have no idea what went wrong. Because when I used to go to that set, I used to enjoy it a lot… to work with Salman sir, to see his admiration and love. When he felt I’m performing well in a scene, he asked that my dialogues and scenes should be increased. He supported me a lot. The film was made very well. I don’t know why the audience didn’t feel like that,” he said.
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Sarna, who is also known for his work in the series ‘Sacred Games’, added that many people he spoke to had positive things to say about the film. “I watched the film on the first day of release itself. I really liked it because I knew the story, so I began thinking from that angle. And everyone else, who went to watch it with me, also liked it. A lot of people told me later also that they liked it a lot. Now, I don’t know about its overall impact,” he said.Addressing Murugadoss’ earlier remarks, Sarna maintained that he personally never witnessed Salman being late on set. “If I’m not wrong, Salman sir said in an interview that he has a particular style of working. So, the director might have said, ‘Yes, I don’t have a problem.’ Cut to: as far as I know, Seth would arrive before my call time,” he recalled.He further described the effort Salman was putting into the film despite health issues. “He would be exercising and cycling even though his ribs were broken and he had a shoulder issue. The taxi in the scene was very small, so it was very tough for a man to go in and out. He was doing all of that. He was there singing, dancing, and doing everything,” Sarna said.According to him, Salman was also juggling other major commitments while shooting for the film. “He used to finish the shoot of Bigg Boss before doing his scenes. He was so tired, but he was there. He wasn’t given any leeway. So, I never found him coming late. He was working at least as much as he was expected to,” he added, referring to the actor hosting Bigg Boss 18 and its popular segment Weekend Ka Vaar.However, Murugadoss has continued to stand by his earlier statement about the film’s struggles. Reflecting on the experience in an interview with Valaipechu Voice, he said, “It’s not easy to shoot with a star. Even day scenes, we have to shoot at night because he turns up on set only by 8 pm. We are used to shooting right from early mornings, but that’s not how things work there.”Salman later addressed the issue while hosting an episode of ‘Bigg Boss 18’ Weekend Ka Vaar. He explained that his delayed arrivals on set were due to a broken rib he sustained while filming action sequences for Sikandar. He also pointed out that if punctuality alone determined a film’s success, Murugadoss’ 2025 Tamil action film Madhraasi, starring Sivakarthikeyan, should not have failed. The film reportedly collected only Rs 62.57 crore domestically against a budget of Rs 100 crore, performing even worse than Sikandar.
