Salman Khan's Sikandar arrives on March 30. Given that many of Khan's recent films looked almost exactly the same, his critics and fans hope to see something different in Sikandar. THE WEEK spoke to a few who look forward to something beyond being formulaic and predictable. It's crucial that this time, Khan relies more on the power of innovative storytelling and well-fleshed-out character arcs than the 'brooding macho, angry man' he's been riding on.
Let's start with Tubelight (2017), a remake of the 2015 American release, The Little Boy, criticised as one of Khan's "worst performances ever." Then there was Bharat (2019), reportedly said to be a 'repeat of all that Khan's done before, featuring Khan as a protagonist who overcomes personal struggles and societal challenges to achieve his goals.
These films, neither of which made any significant dent at the box office, failed to offer nuance and well-fleshed-out characters. In his 2019 outing with Dabangg 3 and its immediate successor, Radhe (2021), Khan was portrayed as a larger-than-life hero who takes on corrupt systems and villains, and the formula just kept repeating itself.
"It really gets tiresome to watch someone who fits himself into the same old mould with every single film. If one were to observe keenly, it wouldn't be hard to notice the repetitive character archetypes in almost all of his films over the years," says Kalpana Iyer, founder of Musically, an online jukebox dedicated to Hindi film music.
The most commonly running theme across his past films — from Bajrangi Bhaijaan in 2015 to Sultan the next year to Bharat in 2019 — has been the 'hero with a Heart of Gold, a one-of-his-kind, generous, selfless do-gooder with a signature side-grin, somehow never seen laughing his heart out.
Times change, but Khan's characters seem to have been caught in a time warp - where every passing decade brings out the same dish that is even garnished with exactly the same and measured spices. Khan's tough masculine on-screen hero seemed to have only undergone a wardrobe change and maybe a tweaking of his moustache here and there, but largely across the decades - from 2010 (Dabangg) and 2011 (Bodyguard) through 2021 (Radhe) - we have been served the 'tough masculine hero,' who's really the same, he does not even age.
Experts have been quick to point out that going by his past offerings, an overuse of lengthy, high-octane action sequences has become a staple — from Tiger Zinda Hai to Race 3 to Radhe.
However, experts point out that Khan's Dabangg, both the original and its sequel, have been the only exceptions to the rule as far as the stereotyping of action sequences in Khan's films is concerned.
Krupa Shandilya, an academic, argues that Khan spawned an entirely "new genre of Bollywood action films," after the release of his 2010 hit Dabangg [The Thug]. Her paper, titled, 'Of enraged shirts, gyrating gangsters, and farting bullets: Salman Khan and the new Bollywood action film,' argues that although touted as an action film, Dabangg plays with the generic conventions of the Bollywood action film, by introducing elements of the carnivalesque into its display of masculinity and violence.
In doing so, it reinvents the action film as the masti film. She says by parodying the fight sequence by introducing songs and dances, mimicry of serious rituals into performance of violence and masculinity, Khan's Dabangg transforms action into a comedic spectacle thereby subverting the action hero's hypermasculinity "by producing masculinity as a masquerade, a comedic performative act that is not to be taken seriously." Now this is the kind of departure we hope to witness in Sikandar on March 30.
Millennial fans whom THE WEEK spoke to, said they wished to see Khan get back to the romance genre, in which he once excelled. He was most known at the beginning of his career for the smash hit, Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), which made him an instant star. This was followed by another superhit Hum Aapke Hain Koun…! (1994), where Prem and Nisha's innocent love story was hailed widely and the duo became a poster couple of love and romance. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) was another notable addition to the romance genre.
"We don't want him to dole out messages or speeches on nationalistic fervour," says Malati Sharma, a Class 12 student from Mumbai. "Let him simply be an actor who acts, not preaches."
Will Khan — whose real-life image over the years has already been marred by several accusations related to the killing of endangered species, drunk driving and abusing women — go beyond the formula and indulge us in something new and more flavourful? And we hope it's not just another item number that adds to his list of 'Munni Badnaam Hui' and 'Fevicol Se', but a strong storyline and performance that linger in our memories long after the film is over.
