In Sikandar, organ donation gives a sprawling action drama its emotional premise, but the story built around that premise struggles to hold together. In her March 30, 2025, review for Scroll.in, Nandini Ramnath argues that the film’s writing and direction badly undermine its cause. Her headline’s “brain transplant” is a pointed metaphor for that criticism—not a medical claim.
What is Sikandar about?
Sikandar is a 2025 Hindi-language action drama and thriller directed by A.R. Murugadoss and led by Salman Khan. Salman Khan Films describes its central character as a self-involved man who becomes more selfless under his wife’s influence. After his wife dies and donates her organs, he seeks out the recipients, who become targets amid a conflict involving a corrupt minister and officials connected to him.
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Character names differ among plot summaries: India Today refers to the lead as Raja Saab and his wife as Saisri, while Indonesia’s film-censorship guide uses Sikandar or Rajaasab and Rani Sahiba. The premise is clearer than the naming: grief and a search for the people helped by the donation set the action in motion.
Why does Ramnath say the film needs a “brain transplant”?
Ramnath’s review is fundamentally about a gap between Sikandar’s subject and its execution. Organ donation could anchor a focused drama about loss, responsibility and the lives affected by a gift. Instead, she finds the setup difficult to follow, the script loses coherence early, and the dialogue fails to make the story more convincing.
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The film also tries to carry a wide range of social concerns alongside slow-motion action. That accumulation, in Ramnath’s view, makes the movie feel unfocused rather than expansive. The organ-donation theme is prominent, but prominence alone does not give it dramatic depth: the surrounding plot needs to make the characters’ choices and the stakes intelligible.
That is the force of the headline’s metaphor. It captures Ramnath’s judgment that the film’s central problem is not its subject but its storytelling. Her review does not establish a medical assessment of how the film depicts donation, and the metaphor should not be read as one.
Rank #2
How does another review assess the action and star appeal?
India Today’s Tushar Joshi also sees missed potential, while identifying elements that may work better for viewers drawn to Salman Khan’s screen persona. His review points to fan-facing close-ups, combat and the lead character’s airplane introduction as spectacle. It also describes the second half as an attempt to recover from problems in the first.
The contrast is useful: a viewer can enjoy the action beats or star-focused presentation without finding the story coherent. Joshi’s observations offer a more specific account of the film’s appeal than a blanket verdict, but they do not erase the structural criticism shared by both reviews.
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What do the ratings and running-time listings show?
Rotten Tomatoes displayed a 6% Tomatometer from 18 critic reviews and a 57% Popcornmeter from 50+ verified ratings when checked on October 8, 2026. These are changeable figures from that platform, not a universal measure of quality or a named audience study. See Rotten Tomatoes’ listing.
Catalogue entries also disagree on running time. Rotten Tomatoes lists 150 minutes; the British Board of Film Classification records a cinema version at 147 minutes 48 seconds; Indonesia’s Film Censorship Institute lists 140 minutes. These are different catalogue entries and should not be treated as proof of a single definitive runtime for every version.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where can you watch it, and what content should viewers know about?
Rotten Tomatoes listed Netflix as a subscription viewing option when checked on October 8, 2026. Streaming catalogues vary by country and can change, so check Netflix in your territory before relying on that listing.
Content note: The BBFC flags strong violence and injury detail, sexual threat, brief drug misuse, grief and funeral scenes, pollution, and flashing images. Its cinema-version guidance describes violence including stabbings, slashings and beatings, as well as a prolonged sexual-threat sequence. The Indonesian classification guide rates the film for audiences aged 17 and above; that applies to Indonesia and is not a universal age rating.
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Verdict
Sikandar has a socially charged premise and action spectacle aimed in part at Salman Khan fans, but its central idea needs a more coherent dramatic framework to land. Ramnath’s severe headline is best understood as a criticism of the film’s writing and direction; Joshi’s account helps explain why some viewers may still find moments of star-driven entertainment in it.
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