Sometimes, films don’t quite turn out the way they sound on paper — and Rashmika Mandanna is now openly reflecting on one such experience. A resurfaced interview clip of the actor has reignited conversation
around Sikandar, her 2025 film with Salman Khan, particularly its storytelling choices and the much-discussed on-screen chemistry.
Released in theatres on March 30 last year, Sikandar struggled at the box office and faced criticism for its weak narrative and lack of emotional connection between the lead characters. Now, Rashmika has suggested that the version audiences eventually saw was far removed from what was initially narrated to her.
Looks like Rashmika had a prominent screentime in Sikandar initially.. ☕ 👀
byu/monkeyishh inBollyBlindsNGossip
Speaking to Telugu journalist Prema, the actor looked back on her decision to sign the film and pointed to significant changes during its making. “Sikandar, I remember talking to Murugadoss sir, ofcourse later what happened was very different… But when I heard the script, it was indeed quite a different script,” Rashmika said.
She went on to explain that such shifts are not uncommon in filmmaking. “Generally that 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. Things change and that is very common. So that happened with Sikandar.”
Clips from the interview have since circulated widely on social media platforms, including Reddit, reopening debates around the film’s execution. While some users revisited discussions about the lack of chemistry between Rashmika and Salman, others speculated that her role may have been reduced during editing.
One comment read, “Who cares as chemistry was 0,” while another stated, “Nothing could have saved this disaster…Bhai’s acting was lazy and he seemed so disinterested… And they were looking like a father daughter pair on top of that along with that horrible remake of Lagg jaa gale, this film was doomed from the beginning.”
Another detailed post claimed, “They edited down the film quite a bit (20+ mins) after censor cuts, not just what the censor board asked for, but a lot more. They intended to do it to shorten the film but it made the film more incoherent and transitions abrupt. This completely messed up the story and narrative. Plus it didn’t help they had a poor supporting cast who wasn’t even given proper roles (or maybe those were edited down too). The main villain and his son were completely irrelevant to the story. And the insistence on releasing in Eid even though they were behind and Salman was going through health issues completely destroyed the movie. It had a decent basic concept but the execution was just bad.”
Others also questioned how Rashmika’s role might have originally been written. “The dance and songs seemed longer than her speaking parts. But, blessing in disguise as that was a bad film,” one user wrote, while another added, “I do wonder how Rashmika’s role was different. I definitely felt that there was a potentially strong role buried for her in the movie. When I saw it.”
Sikandar marked Salman Khan’s return to the big screen after 2023 and also director AR Murugadoss’ comeback to Hindi cinema after nine years. The film followed the story of Rajkot’s king Sanjay Rajkot, also known as Sikandar, who sets out to protect three people in Mumbai who received organ donations from his late wife Saishri, played by Rashmika Mandanna, while battling a vengeful politician.
Despite being mounted on a reported budget of ₹200 crore, the film earned only ₹185 crore worldwide, according to Sacnilk. The cast also included Sathyaraj, Kajal Aggarwal, Prateik Babbar and Sharman Joshi.
In a later appearance on Bigg Boss 19, Salman was asked by comedian Ravi Gupta about films he regretted doing. The actor named Suryavanshi (1992) and Nishchay (1992), but defended Sikandar, saying, “Nayi mein se koi nahi hai… log kehte hain Sikandar par main nahi manta, uska plot bahut acha tha (I don’t regret doing any film in the recent times. People do say it can be Sikandar, but I don’t believe that. The plot of the film was good).”
