The making of ‘Sikandar’ coincided with one of the most challenging periods in Salman Khan’s personal and professional life. In October 2024, the superstar was left devastated by the murder of his close friend and veteran politician Baba Siddique. At the same time, he was also dealing with increased security concerns and a painful rib injury that reportedly impacted his movement during the film’s shoot.While Salman had previously acknowledged battling a rib injury during filming, discussions around delays on the sets of ‘Sikandar’ had also made headlines. Director AR Murugadoss had spoken about the scheduling challenges the production faced. Now, actor Vishal Vashishtha, who shared screen space with Salman in the film, has offered his perspective on what was happening behind the scenes.Vishal defended the superstar and praised his determination to continue working despite the physical and emotional toll he was carrying.Reflecting on those days, Vishal said Salman was navigating an incredibly difficult phase. He said in an interview with Free Press Journal, “We were shooting Sikandar in very tough circumstances, especially for Salman sir. And that’s not a hidden fact. He was mentally and emotionally drained, and physically as well, he was going through a lot. We saw it ourselves; it wasn’t a made-up story, it was real. He would walk slowly and somehow finish the scene. The moment the director called cut, he would go back and get physiotherapy done. He needed to stay mobile because he had to perform all those action sequences. One thing I took away from him was that even after so many years in the industry, he was still there for his work. I can’t even imagine what was going on in the background of his life, but he continued shooting. What stayed with me was this: despite everything that was happening around him, after so many years, he was still doing it. He was in pain, yet he kept going. There were a life-threatening issue outside but he was still showing up. It was tough.”Vishal’s comments come months after AR Murugadoss revealed that filming the project had often become complicated because Salman would arrive on set later than expected, forcing the team to make adjustments and occasionally shoot daytime scenes at night.Addressing those claims, Vishal said the delays were not without reason and were linked to the actor’s health and the circumstances surrounding him.“We also waited – sometimes in the vanity van and sometimes on the set. But I was certain something was wrong. He wasn’t simply sitting in his van doing nothing. By the last day, he had improved a little physically. There was a reason the action sequences were scheduled later because he needed time to recover. Before that, during the household scenes, he was struggling. And by struggling, I mean even getting up from a chair and sitting down was very difficult for him.”The actor further urged people to look at the situation with empathy, noting that Salman was dealing with much more than what was visible to the public.“You have to give him the benefit of the doubt because it was clearly a struggle. And with everything that was happening in the background, it couldn’t have been easy. Just dealing with the amount of security personnel around you all the time is suffocating. It was a very difficult situation.”Vishal’s account offers a glimpse into the difficult circumstances under which ‘Sikandar’ was shot, highlighting the challenges Salman faced while continuing to fulfil his professional commitments despite personal loss, physical pain and constant security concerns.
