Salman's 'Sikandar' Beating SRK's 'Dunki' Proves His Stardom

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Seldom has the buzz surrounding two films starring superstars been so disparate. Three months after releasing consecutive ₹1000-crore hits, Shah Rukh Khan’s Dunki came at his best time in years. He was working with hitmaker Rajkumar Hirani for the first time, and the buzz was going crazy. Sikandar did not appear to be Salman Khan’s typical film. The main topic of conversation was his alleged weight gain and age difference with the lead female. It had been eight years since he had a clean blockbuster, too. Nevertheless, both films had similar opening days, with Sikandar even slightly outperforming in India. If you want to write as many obituaries as you can about Salman’s career and fame, Sikandar is evidence that it is still going strong.

How Salman Khan Carried Sikandar

AR Murugadoss returned to Hindi with Sikandar. However, in the 17 years following Ghajini’s success, that goodwill had diminished. He practically made a comeback to Hindi audiences. There was little publicity for the movie, and most of the conversation was either neutral or unfavourable. Sikandar opened at ₹30 crore net in India on its first day, surpassing Dunki’s ₹29 crore opening day from December 2023, despite this (and mostly unfavourable reviews). Although Dunki was a social drama and Sikandar was a mass entertainer, so it was expected that the latter would start slowly, the other factors against Sikandar make this “win” very unexpected.

Naturally, Sikandar’s collections declined shortly after Eid because of adverse word of mouth. Nevertheless, the movie has made over ₹100 crore in India and ₹200 crore globally. Most non-Khan, non-Ranbir/Hrithik actors strive to achieve these figures. Salman Khan is seen strolling past these landmarks while wearing a movie titled “His Worst.” And he completed this task in a little over a week.

The prognosis is straightforward. Salman Khan’s superstardom is still going strong, as evidenced by Sikandar’s collections. The poor quality of the movie doesn’t bother his devoted fans. They will swarm to his defence and ensure that the movie gets off to a strong start. In a pre-release press conference, the actor stated that his fans make sure a movie makes more than ₹200 crore. Even Laal Singh Chaddha, starring Aamir Khan, had trouble breaking ₹125 crore. Shah Rukh was having trouble making 200 crore from films like Zero and Raees prior to his break. But even in what might be the lowest point in his career in more than 15 years, Salman is still handling that with ease.

But Salman, it’s time to pay attention to your fans now

Salman’s supporters have expressed their desire to support him. They will purchase tickets for him, crowd up at the theatres, and even combat negative comments on social media for their celebrity (trust me, there was a lot of that). But the fans aren’t receiving the credit they deserve. Salman’s devotion must have been put to the test by the many fans of Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan and Sikandar. More so when they witness Shah Rukh Khan breaking box office records by delivering Jawan and Pathaan in the same amount of time.

Following Sikandar’s release, fans asked the star to “do more films like Bajrangi Bhaijaan” during an unofficial meet and greet. The message is unambiguous: prioritise quality. And the madness will come from us. If Salman wants to change it, there is no reason why he can’t. He is still attractive. Imagine the heights he can reach with a movie “deserving” of that star power if he can reach ₹30 crore in India with a mediocre film like Sikandar. Salman is now in charge of determining whether and when that will occur.

Stay tuned! The best is yet to come.

Source URL:- https://www.hindustantimes.com/