Mumbai, India – In a recent episode of Bigg Boss 19, Salman Khan addressed the controversy surrounding his film Sikandar and the comments made by its director, AR Murugadoss. The film, which was highly anticipated, failed to perform as expected at the box office, leading Murugadoss to suggest that Khan's late arrivals on set were partly to blame.
During a segment with comedian Ravi Gupta, Khan was asked to name films he regretted doing. While he initially mentioned older films like Sooryavanshi and Nishchay, when pressed for more recent examples, Khan humorously named Sikandar.
Khan addressed Murugadoss's allegations with his signature wit and sarcasm. He quipped, " Kya hai na main set pe raat ke 9 baje pahuchta tha, toh usme gadbad ho gayi. Meri pasaliyan tooti thi, isne jo hamare director (AR Murugadoss) sahab hain unhone ye kaha. Lekin unki picture (Madharaasi) abhi ek release hui hai jisme actor 6 baje pahuchta tha." This translates to, "The thing is, I used to reach the set at 9 PM, so that caused problems. My ribs were broken, this is what our director (AR Murugadoss) said. But his film (Madharaasi) just got released, in which the actor used to reach at 6 AM".
Khan's statement alluded to the fact that despite Murugadoss's alleged emphasis on punctuality, his latest directorial venture, Madharaasi, also did not fare well, even with actors arriving on set early. He then took a playful dig at how Murugadoss and producer Sajid Nadiadwala distanced themselves from Sikandar before its release. "Toh pahle toh ye picture thi Murugadoss aur Sajid Nadiadwala ki. Uske baad Sajid pahle kalti, Murugadoss wapas se hat gaya wahan se seedha South picture," Khan said, laughing, implying that Murugadoss returned to directing South Indian films.
He further taunted the box-office performance of Madharaasi, remarking, "Madharaasi karke picture unhone direct ki hai jo ki release hui, bahut badi film hai aur utni hi badi... (smiles) Sikandar se badi blockbuster," suggesting sarcastically that Madharaasi was a bigger blockbuster than Sikandar.
Murugadoss had previously revealed that shooting with Khan presented challenges, stating that daytime scenes had to be filmed at night because Khan would arrive on set late. He also mentioned the extensive use of VFX to create daylight effects for these scenes. These comments drew criticism from Khan's fans, who accused Murugadoss of hypocrisy, pointing out his past praise for the actor.
Khan also addressed recent allegations made against him by filmmaker Abhinav Kashyap, without directly naming him. He expressed disappointment at Kashyap's remarks against Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, suggesting that Kashyap had damaged his own career.
Sikandar marked Murugadoss's return to Hindi cinema after directing Akira in 2016. The film featured Rashmika Mandanna, Kajal Aggarwal, Sathyaraj, Sharman Joshi, and Prateik Babbar in key roles and was released on March 28, 2025.
