Sikandar Teaser Sparks Backlash: Salman Khan Faces Career Crossroads Over Remake Claims

By Shantiswarup Tripathi

Sikandar Teaser: After the release of the second teaser of the film 'Sikandar,' the kind of discussions happening on social media suggests that actor Salman Khan might soon be humming the lyrics: "Duniya walon ki takdeer sanwarte sanwarte, hum apni bigdi bigaad baithe." Although this might sound quite odd, if you look at the ongoing discussions on social media, you'll also realize that Salman Khan has really landed in a tough spot. The truth is that while trying to shape others' destinies, Salman Khan seems to have messed up his own. The second teaser of the film 'Sikandar,' which was made with a budget of 400 crore rupees, has already dealt Salman Khan a major blow.

Sikandar Teaser Sparks Debate Over Salman Khan's Box Office Run!

The second teaser of the film ‘Sikandar’ has delivered a massive blow to Salman Khan, who has already faced disappointment with his previous films. The reason behind the social media uproar is clear—since 2017, Salman Khan's films like Tubelight, Race 3, Bharat, Radhe, Antim, and Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan have all failed at the box office. Moreover, Salman Khan made cameo appearances or special appearances in movies like Judwaa 2, Welcome to New York, Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se, Zero, Godfather (Telugu), Wade (Marathi), Singham Again, and Baby John, but none of these films garnered any significant audience either. Although no one has blamed Salman Khan for promoting "nepo-kids" like Karan Johar, he has consistently used his films to launch others, be it Sneha Ullal or Daisy Shah.

However, after 2017, Salman Khan has produced films for his relatives or "nepo-kids," such as Tubelight, Race 3, LoveYatri, Notebook, Bharat, Kaagaz, Radhe, Antim, and Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, none of which found acceptance with the audience. This points to the fact that both Salman Khan’s career as an actor and producer have taken a severe hit.

In this scenario, Sikandar is set to release this Eid, and Salman Khan is hopeful that every Indian will celebrate the film as a gift and make it a success. However, after the second teaser dropped, social media discussions are pointing in a completely different direction. The main grievance among netizens is that they feel misled. Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and directed by A.R. Murugadoss (famous for Ghajini), Sikandar is touted as an original action-packed film. But social media is abuzz with claims that Sikandar is a Hindi remake of Murugadoss's 2018 Tamil film Sarkar.

Over the last few years, audiences have been turned off by Hindi remakes of South Indian films. For instance, when Shahid Kapoor's Deva released earlier this year, it was promoted as an original, only for audiences to discover that it was a remake of the Malayalam film Mumbai Police by the same director. The backlash was immediate, and the film performed poorly at the box office.

The anger on social media is not just about the claims of Sikandar being a remake, but also the fact that the audience feels they are being deceived. The makers of the film, including Salman Khan, have remained tight-lipped about the issue. On the other hand, some media outlets have come to Salman Khan’s defense, claiming that Sikandar is indeed an original film.

The second teaser has revealed glaring similarities between the plots of Sikandar and Sarkar. Both films revolve around a man fighting against corruption and injustice in a troubled nation, and fans are pointing out how the costumes of Vijay in Sarkar and Salman Khan in Sikandar appear identical.

This is not Murugadoss's first remake in Hindi. After Ghajini, he directed Holiday: A Soldier is Never Off Duty and Akira, both remakes that failed to make an impact on the audience. Now, after a nine-year hiatus, he returns with Sikandar, and rather than an original, he has opted to remake his own film, Sarkar. This move has caused further dismay among fans.

Salman Khan’s concern only increases because Sikandar is extremely important for his career at this point. With his past few films failing, he desperately needs a hit to salvage his reputation. Unfortunately, Sikandar lacks any major innovation in terms of story. Films about fighting corruption and injustice are not new, and the genre has been overdone.

Moreover, in Sikandar, Salman Khan has surrounded himself with several relatively unknown or unsuccessful actors, such as Kajal Aggarwal, Prateik Babbar, Sharman Joshi, and Anjini Dhawan. In a recent interview, Sharman Joshi admitted that he met Salman at a party and told him he was out of work. Salman Khan then assured him, “Don’t worry, you’ll be doing Sikandar,” and now he is part of the cast. Salman Khan, rather than focusing on his own career, has always been more concerned with helping others, which might end up being a huge setback for him with Sikandar.

Some of these actors, like Sharman Joshi, have not had a hit in years. Sharman’s last success was Ferrari Ki Sawaari in 2012, and since then, he has been struggling in his career. Kajal Aggarwal, after several years of work in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu films, has also not seen much success in Bollywood. Similarly, Prateik Babbar has failed to make his mark after his debut in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na in 2008. The fact that Salman Khan has brought them all together for Sikandar raises eyebrows, as none of these actors have been able to consistently deliver hits.

It seems that Salman Khan’s inherent desire to uplift others, even when his own career is floundering, has led him to make questionable choices for the cast of Sikandar. Despite all this, he continues to help others, even if it jeopardizes his own career.

The film’s hefty budget of 400 crore is also causing some concern. To recover this cost, Sikandar would need to gross at least 1000 crore at the box office, a feat that seems increasingly unlikely given the growing backlash. With the failure of Hindi remakes and the cast choices, the audience may not be willing to invest in a film that doesn’t seem to offer anything fresh.

After the release of Sikandar’s second teaser, Salman Khan’s career seems to be at a crossroads. While he is surrounded by a media faction defending him, the truth remains that remakes and unoriginal films rarely succeed. Unless the film undergoes a major transformation, it seems unlikely that Sikandar will achieve the kind of success Salman Khan desperately needs to rebuild his career.

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