Rashmika Mandanna Breaks Silence On Why Sikandar Flopped: 'Over The Making Of The Film…'

Months after the dust settled on one of last year’s most talked-about box office disappointments, Rashmika Mandanna has finally addressed why she thinks Sikandar failed to click with audiences. Instead

of blaming the timing or the scale, the actor has pointed to something more basic: the story didn’t remain the same by the time the film was made. Rashmika played the wife of Salman Khan’s character in Sikandar, a role that ended early in the film. The story then shifted into a straight revenge drama, with Salman’s character going after the antagonist played by Sathyaraj. The tonal shift drew mixed reactions from viewers. What Rashmika says went wrong In a recent interaction with Telugu journalist Premaa, Rashmika explained that the film she signed was not the film that eventually reached theatres. She said, “What happened later was very different, but when I heard the script, it was indeed quite a different script. But that generally happens with films. When you listen to something, it is one story that you have listened to. But over the making of the film, things change according to the performances, according to the edits, according to the time of the release. That’s very common. So, that happened with Sikandar.” The numbers tell the story Despite a prime Eid release and backing from Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, Sikandar struggled at the domestic box office. The film earned around Rs 110 crore in India against a reported budget of Rs 200 crore, making it one of the biggest underperformers of the year. AR Murugadoss’ take on the setback Director AR Murugadoss earlier blamed structural issues in Hindi cinema. He argued that working in a different language weakens creative control, saying scripts often change during translation. He also criticised the working culture around big stars, saying, “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.” Salman Khan’s reaction to Sikandar Salman did not agree with Murugadoss’ explanation. On Bigg Boss 18, he clarified that his late arrivals were due to a broken rib during action scenes. He also pointed out that Murugadoss’ Telugu film Madhraasi performed even worse at the box office despite timely shoots. Salman added, “Toh pehle toh yeh picture thi Murugadoss aur Sajid Nadiadwala ki…”, holding both the director and producer responsible for distancing themselves after the film failed.