Sikandar

About the film

Sikandar is a 2025 Indian Hindi-language action drama film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. It stars Salman Khan, Kajal Aggarwal, Rashmika Mandanna, Sharman Joshi, Sathyaraj, Jatin Sarna, Sanjay Kapoor, Prateik Smita Patil (in a special appearance) and Kishore. In the film, Sanjay "Sikandar" Rajkot (Khan) is motivated by a tragic accident to redeem his past by changing the lives of three people and finds himself targeted by a vengeful politician.

Sikandar was officially announced in April 2024, with principal photography commencing the following June. It was predominantly shot in Mumbai and Hyderabad and wrapped by March 2025. Sikandar's soundtrack was composed by Pritam, its background score was composed by Santhosh Narayanan, its cinematography handled by Tirru, and was edited by Vivek Harshan. The film had an estimated production budget of ₹200 crore.

Plot

Sanjay Rajkot, the final heir of the Rajkot dynasty of Gujarat, is known to the people as "Sikandar." He is married to Saisri, a painter, who is referred to as Rani Sahiba. Once during a flight, Arjun, the son of Minister Rakesh Pradhan, encounters Monica, a former pornographic film actress who has since married and has a son. Arjun threatens to show her past videos to her son in exchange for sex. However, Sanjay, who is also on the flight, intervenes, engaging in a fistfight with Arjun and his bouncers. He ultimately forces Arjun to apologize to Monica. The next day, Minister Rakesh hires Inspector Prakash to arrest Sanjay for attacking his son, personally bribing him for the job. Prakash arrives at Sanjay's mansion in Rajkot, only to find that he is not there. Saisri informs him that Sanjay has already gone to the police station. When Prakash reaches the station, he finds Sanjay there but with his senior officers, who order Prakash to let him go.

Saisri feels that Sanjay is always distant from her. She often notices him forgetting their wedding anniversary and her birthday. One day, she discovers that she is pregnant and tries to share the news with Sanjay. However, at the same time, his quarry manager sells 40 kilos of explosives, which are threatened to be used at a site. This forces Sanjay to rush there to stop the attack. Unbeknownst to him, Saisri follows him to the site, where she gets caught in a bomb blast and is severely wounded. She is rushed to the hospital, but succumbs to her injuries before she can tell Sanjay about her pregnancy. Prior to her death, she had signed up for organ donation, and her lungs, eyes, and heart are transplanted into patients in Mumbai.

Upon learning that her organs were used in surgeries there, Sanjay sets out to find the recipients and goes to Mumbai. He soon discovers that her lungs were donated to Kamar, an orphaned child from Dharavi, Mumbai; her eyes to Vaidehi Ranga; and her heart to Nisha. Sanjay first encounters Kamar and learns that he suffers from lung disease due to the severe pollution in his area. The pollution is caused by Virat Bakshi, a businessman who has bought several acres of land to build a shopping mall. However, in an attempt to force the remaining residents to vacate, he uses the land he owns as a dumping ground for garbage, worsening the living conditions.

Production

In February 2024, it was reported that Salman Khan and Sajid Nadiadwala would begin production on a film, nearly a decade on from their last collaboration Kick (2014): A.R. Murugadoss was then reported to be the film's director. It marks the first film between Khan and Murugadoss, who initially pitched the lead role of Ghajini (2008) to Khan. Nadiadwala and Murugadoss both recruited Khan for Sikandar.

The film was announced by Khan on his social media platforms on Eid al-Fitr in April 2024, and expressed his excitement about collaborating with Murugadoss and Nadiadwala. The film was scheduled to be filmed soon thereafter across multiple countries, including Portugal and other European countries but was delayed due to Murugadoss' commitments on Madharasi (2025). Murugadoss eventually worked on Sikandar and Madharasi simultaneously until June 2024, although, he completed significant portions of Madharasi before continuing on Sikandar. With an estimated production budget of ₹180 crore, Sikandar is the most expensive film produced by Nadiadwala and one of the most expensive Indian films of all time.

In May 2024, Kajal Aggarwal and Rashmika Mandanna were announced as the female leads opposite Salman Khan, marking their first on-screen collaboration. Shortly thereafter, Sathyaraj and Prateik Babbar were confirmed as part of the cast.

Music

The film's music rights were acquired by Zee Music Company, with the songs being composed by Pritam and the background score being composed by Santhosh Narayanan. The first single, "Zohra Jabeen", was released on 4 March 2025. The second single, "Bam Bam Bhole", was released one week later, and the third single, "Sikandar Naache", was released on 18 March. The fourth single, "Hum Aapke Bina" was released on 28 March 2025. The fifth single, “Taikhaane Mein” was released on 8 April 2025.

Release

Sikandar was theatrically released worldwide on 30 March 2025, in standard and IMAX formats, coinciding with Eid-al-Fitr, and clashed with L2: Empuraan and Veera Dheera Sooran: Part 2. The film was released in more than 5,000 screens across India.

Key details