With superstars, you can't be 100% true to script: A R Murugadoss on Salman Khan-starrer 'Sikandar'

Mumbai: A filmmaker cannot stay true to the script completely while mounting a film with a superstar as it is important to cater to their fanbase, says A R Murugadoss, who has directed Aamir Khan in "Ghajini" and has now collaborated with Salman Khan in the upcoming movie "Sikandar".

As a storyteller, Murugadoss has also worked with the biggest superstars from South cinema, including Rajinikanth ("Darbar"), Vijay ("Sarkar", "Kaththi" & "Thuppakki"), Suriya ("Ghajini"), Ajith ("Dheena"), Mahesh Babu ("Spyder") and Chiranjeevi ("Stalin").

There is no option of making a regular film with a superstar, said Murugadoss, as one has to ensure that the movie has all the elements that would appeal to fans.

"When you are working with superstars, you cannot be 100 per cent true to the script. We’ve to compromise for the audience, for the fan base, for the opening. We cannot go with being 100 per cent genuine as a director. We’ve to satisfy the fans and think about them. It is difficult to be in that zone,” Murugadoss told PTI in an interview.

The superstars he has collaborated with have been "sincere" and very passionate about their fan base.

"They want to keep their stardom very strong, they want to build it, they want it to grow. So, we have to learn from them."

"Sikandar", which marks his maiden collaboration with Salman, is made for the hardcore fans of the superstar, he added.

"The film, however, is different from Salman sir’s previous films. It has some unique points. Like in ‘Ghajini’, there was a beautiful love story. Similarly, there’s a husband and wife love story in this film,” Murugadoss said about the movie, which also features Rashmika Mandanna.

In “Sikandar”, which features Khan as the action hero, the director said he has underscored the importance of family amidst life's hustle.

“Today, people do not have time to spend with their family, whether it is their father, mother, or friends. We always focus on work... Though it is a commercial film, it has a beautiful message."

His dream of working with Salman dates back to 2014, when he collaborated with Akshay Kumar on "Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty".

“While making ‘Holiday’, I met Salman sir. We were shooting at Madh Island, and he was there for a courtesy visit. I went and said hello. Then I said, ‘I want to make a film with you.' He replied, ‘Even I want to do a film with you’.

"A few years later, he called me as he wanted to do a Korean film remake, and I said, ‘I don't want to do it. If I want to do a film with you, it has to be something which I want to write myself’,” the Chennai-based director recalled.

During Covid-19 pandemic, producer Sajid Nadiadwala reached out to Murugadoss for a “good” script to collaborate on.

After hearing the initial idea, Nadiadwala felt Salman was the perfect fit for the movie. Months of script development followed, leading to a meeting with Salman at his Galaxy apartment in Mumbai.

“Within 30 minutes of the narration, he walked away a bit, smoked, and then asked, ‘Do you know how I work’, I said, ‘No.' He replied, ‘I work from 2 pm to 2 am and are you okay with it?’ I was like, 'this means he liked the script',” the director added.

Murugadoss said they often had different interpretations of how a scene should unfold.

“When we couldn't come to a conclusion, we would shoot both ways and then decide during the edit.”

Asked about roping in Mandanna, the actor who has made a name for herself in Hindi cinema with "Animal" and "Chhaava", as the female lead of “Sikandar”, the director said she is the apt choice for the part despite the age difference between the two stars.

“He is married late in his life and it is justified in the story,” the director said.

Besides “Sikandar”, Murugadoss was also filming for “Madharasi", starring Sivakarthikeyan. Originally, the director had intended to complete “Madharasi” first but Salman expressed his desire to prioritise “Sikandar” over his other upcoming projects.

“I shot two schedules here, and there, I was flying between Chennai to Bombay. It started raining and the two schedules got postponed, then I called Sivakarthikeyan, and the producer, and requested them saying, ‘They’ve (makers of ‘Sikandar’) fixed the date, please give me time, I will finish it and come back’,” Murugadoss said, adding, about 20 days of work is left on “Madharasi”, which will have its release this year.

"Sikandar" also stars Kajal Aggarwal, Sathyaraj and Prateik Babbar in pivotal roles. The film is scheduled to be released in theatres on March 30, coinciding with the festival of Eid.