AR Murugadoss opens up on Salman starrer Sikandar

AR Murugadoss opens up on Salman starrer Sikandar

South’s legendary director AR Murugadoss says that a filmmaker cannot stay true to the script completely while mounting a film with a superstar as it is important to cater to their fanbase. He had directed Aamir Khan in Ghajini and now with Salman Khan in Sikandar.

As a storyteller, Murugadoss has also worked with the biggest superstars from South cinema, including Rajinikanth (Darbar), Vijay (Sarkar, Kaththi & Thuppakki), Suriya (Ghajini), Ajith (Dheena), Mahesh Babu (Spyder) and Chiranjeevi (Stalin).

There isn’t any option of making a regular film with a superstar, says Murugadoss, as one has to ensure that the movie has all the elements that would appeal to fans.

When working with superstars, you cannot be 100 per cent true to the script. The makers has to compromise for the audience, for the fan base, for the opening. Just cannot go with being 100 per cent genuine as a director. The fans need to be satisfied. It is difficult to be in that zone. Fans are also more important without their acceptance a film never runs successfully.

He went on to add that he has collaborated with superstars and they have been “sincere” and very passionate about their fan base. “They want to keep their stardom very strong, they want to build it, they want it to grow. So, we filmmakers have to learn from them.

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The film, however, is different from Salman’s earlier films. It has some unique points. Like in Ghajini, there was a beautiful love story. Similarly, there’s a husband and wife love story in this film,” Murugadoss said about the movie, which also features Rashmika Mandanna.

In Sikandar, featuring Salman Khan as the action hero, the director said he has underscored the importance of family amidst life’s hustle.
Today, people have no time to spend with their family, be it their father, mother, or friends. We always focus on work… Though it is a commercial film, it has a beautiful message.”
His dream of working with Salman dates back to 2014, when he collaborated with Akshay Kumar on Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty. “While making Holiday, he met Salman. We were shooting at Madh Island, and he was there for a courtesy visit. He went and said hello. Then said, he (Murugadoss) wants to make a film with you (Salman) He replied even he wants to do a film with him..‘

“A few years later, he called me as he wanted to do a Korean film remake, and I said, ‘I don’t want to do it. If I want to do a film with you, it has to be something which I want to write myself,’” the Chennai-based director recalled.
During COVID-19 pandemic, producer Sajid Nadiadwala reached out to AR Murugadoss for a “good” script to collaborate on. After hearing the initial idea, Sajid felt Salman was the perfect fit for the movie. Months of script development followed, leading to a meeting with Salman at his Galaxy apartment in Mumbai.
“Within 30 minutes of the narration, he walked away a bit, smoked, and then asked, ‘Do you know how I work?’ I said, ‘No.’ He replied, ‘I work from 2 pm to 2 am and are you okay with it?’ I was like, ‘This means he liked the script,’” the director added.
Murugadoss said they often had different interpretations of how a scene should unfold. “When we couldn’t come to a conclusion, we would shoot both ways and then decide during the edit.”

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Asked about roping in Rashmika Mandanna, the actor who has made a name for herself in Hindi cinema with Animal and Chhaava, as the female lead of Sikandar, the director said she is the apt choice for the part despite the age difference between the two stars. “He is married late in his life and it is justified in the story,” the director said.
Besides Sikandar, AR Murugadoss was also filming for Madharasi, starring Sivakarthikeyan.

Originally, the director had intended to complete Madharasi first but Salman Khan expressed his desire to prioritise Sikandar over his other upcoming projects. “I shot two schedules here, and there, I was flying between Chennai to Bombay. It started raining and the two schedules got postponed, then I called Sivakarthikeyan, and the producer, and requested them saying, “They’ve (makers of Sikandar) fixed the date, please give me time, I will finish it and come back,’” Murugadoss said, adding, about 20 days of work is left on Madharasi, which will have its release this year.

Sikandar also stars Kajal Aggarwal, Sathyaraj and Prateik Babbar in pivotal roles.

The film is scheduled to be released in theatres on March 30, coinciding with the festival of Eid.

News Edit KV Raman