A.R. Murugadoss Calls Salman Unprofessional
Says he’s a difficult star to work with, blames him for Sikandar failure
Filmmaker AR Murugadoss has opened up about the experience of working with Salman Khan on Sikandar, describing it as “extremely difficult and unprofessional.”
In a recent interview, Murugadoss claimed that the film, which marked his return to the big screen after nine years, had failed not only due to execution lapses but also because of the “lead actor’s erratic behaviour on set.”
“It’s not easy to shoot with a star. We had to shoot even day scenes at night because he (Salman) would arrive only by 8 PM. We are used to shooting in the early mornings, but that’s not how things worked here,” the director revealed. He added that scenes originally planned for daylight had to be filmed under artificial lights and later corrected with CG, while a spate of last-minute changes threw his vision completely off balance.
Murugadoss also recalled how the delays disrupted his child artistes’ schedules: “If there were four kids in a scene, we had to shoot with them at 2 AM, even if it was supposed to be them returning from school! By then, they would be exhausted and usually dozed off.”
Corroborating Murugadoss’ account, a source from the production claimed, “He [Salman] is a law unto himself and has utter disregard for the people he works with. Everything operates on Salman Khan Standard Time.”
It’s not easy to shoot with a star. We had to shoot even day scenes at night because he (Salman) would arrive only by 8 PM. If there were four kids in a scene, we had to shoot with them at 2 AM, they would be exhausted and usually dozed off. Scenes originally planned for daylight had to be filmed under artificial lights and later corrected with CG”
— A.R. Murugadoss
Salman responds
The superstar who was criticised for a lacklustre performance in the film, has dismissed the allegations, maintaining that he was reporting to set by 11:30 AM. He however, admitted that his “timings always were a bit different, since he had other work to do.” He also claimed that he was living in a tent near the set and never went back home during the shoot.
