Mumbai: Just days ahead of the film’s release, ‘Sikandar’ director AR Murugadoss shared that when filmmakers work with superstars, they have to compromise with the script.
In the highly-anticipated action drama ‘Sikandar’, Murugadoss of ‘Ghajini’ fame has directed superstar Salman Khan.
The filmmaker said that keeping in mind Salman’s huge following, he had to compromise with the script “to cater to his fanbase.”
The director said that ‘Sikandar’ is made for the diehard fans of Salman.
“When you are working with superstars, you cannot be 100 per cent true to the script. We’ve to compromise for the audience, for the fan base, for the opening. We cannot go with being 100 per cent genuine as a director. We’ve to satisfy the fans and think about them. It is difficult to be in that zone,” Murugadoss was quoted as saying by PTI.
Murugadoss has worked with the biggest superstars from South, including Rajinikanth ‘(Darbar’), Vijay (‘Sarkar’, ‘Kaththi’ & ‘Thuppakki’), Suriya (‘Ghajini’), Ajith Kumar (‘Dheena’), Mahesh Babu (‘Spyder’) and Chiranjeevi (‘Stalin’).
Narrating his experience of teaming up with superstars, he said, “They want to keep their stardom very strong; they want to build it, they want it to grow. So, we have to learn from them.”
Sharing his dream of working with Salman, the director said, “While making Holiday, I met Salman sir. We were shooting at Madh Island, and he was there for a courtesy visit. I went and said hello. Then I said, ‘I want to make a film with you.’ He replied, ‘Even I want to do a film with you’. “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’.”
Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, producer Sajid Nadiadwala approached him for a “good” script. After hearing the story idea, Sajid felt Salman was perfect for the movie.
Sharing about his meeting with Salman, he said, “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’.”
Talking about the movie, Murugadoss revealed, “The film, however, is different from Salman sir’s previous 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.”
He added, “Today, people do not have time to spend with their family, whether it is their father, mother, or friends. We always focus on work… Though it is a commercial film, it has a beautiful message.”
Besides Salman, ‘Sikandar’ stars Rashmika Mandanna, Kajal Aggarwal, Sathyaraj and Prateik Babbar in key roles.
The film is scheduled for Eid release, and will hit theatres on March 30.
