What Sikandar star Salman Khan loves about the UAE
During the last decade or so, the annual Eid weekend at the movies has been – more often than not – synonymous among fans of Hindi cinema with the release of a blockbuster starring Bollywood actor Salman Khan.
This year isn’t any different. Khan’s latest action thriller Sikandar, co-starring Rashmika Mandanna and directed by AR Murugadoss (Ghajini, 2008), hits cinemas across the globe this Eid weekend.
“If there’s one thing I love about the country, it’s that its leaders offer an equitable sense of care and safety – not only to its citizens, but to its expatriates and tourists too,” Khan tells The National.
“When I meet people out here, I find it really heartening that residents from India retain their cultural identity, as do those from other places. It’s the perfect symbiosis of the East and West, where cultural diversity meets modern infrastructure.”
For Khan, who toured Dubai on Saturday along with Mandanna and Murugadoss, the Eid blockbuster release all comes down to pragmatism. “It’s a great release window,” he says. “And a fantastic option movie lovers looking for something to do over the long weekend.”
His claims are backed by the financial success of most movies with his name above the title – be it Dabangg, Sultan, or Race 3 – over the last 16 years. It makes sense that Sikandar, the second most expensive film starring Salman Khan after Tiger 3, follows suit.
The actor has a storied career and has seen the industry go through many changes. But his ethos has remained consistent. “You still work hard,” Khan says. “Technologically, we’ve come a very long way, and there have been a lot of cerebral differences in workflow compared to when I started, but it’s still the same work at the end of the day.”
His latest film is produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, who has backed multiple films starring Khan over nearly three decades. In 2014, he even cast him in Kick, which was his own directorial debut.
Khan describes Nadiadwala as “a good friend”. Khan fulfilled his side of the bargain during the making of Sikandar, even on days when he found it physically painful – the actor suffered a rib injury while shooting the film – because he wanted to do right by his friend.
“It was the sensible thing to do, so I did everything that was in my power to give it my best shot, even through the injury,” he recalls. Jokingly, he adds: “If the attempt ends up terrible, blame [Nadiadwala], Rashmika and [director Murugadoss]. If it’s great though, you can always credit me for the success.”
Sikandar is in cinemas now across the Middle East