Salman Khan is making his much-awaited Eid comeback with Sikandar on Sunday (March 30). Last year, Salman Khan didn’t have an Eid release. He was last seen in Tiger 3, in 2023, which also released on a Sunday, coinciding with Diwali that year.  

Salman Khan met the press in Mumbai on March 26, ahead of the release of Sikandar. To ensure Salman Khan’s security amid the constant threats from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, no camera was allowed during the interview. 

Salman Khan’s Sikandar is expected to face a tough competition from Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran’s L2: Empuraan this week. The film released in theatres today.

When NDTV asked Salman about the South vs Bollywood battle, Salman had an interesting take.

Q. L2: Empuraan is releasing just three days before your film. Prithviraj [Sukumaran] wished you good luck. What do you have to say about Empuraan?

Salman Khan: I love him as an actor. Prithviraj is directing it, and I know that it’s going to be an excellent film. There’s Jaat also coming post Sikandar. I wish all of them do well. 

[Wishing us good luck] That’s really sweet of them. I’ve known Charan (Ram Charan) and Tarak (Jr NTR). They grew up in front of me. Most of them started doing films a year or two after I began my journey as an actor. I know Venky [Daggubati Venkatesh] really well. We’ve worked together and have been friends for 30-35 years now. I know Chiru Garu [Chiranjeevi] because I did a Thumps Up commercial with him. 

I’ve worked with a lot of South actors. In fact, I was the first Hindi film actor from my generation to start working with South directors. I’ve worked with four-five South directors at one point of time.  Even the heroines share this sense of brotherhood with me; it’s really nice (laughs).

Q: How are the South directors different from Hindi filmmakers?

Salman Khan: Technically, they’re very advanced and emotionally they’re very evolved. They don’t pick up ideas and stories from elsewhere. They conceive their own stories.

Having said that, it’s not like all the films that they make in the South are good. In Bollywood, you only remember those films that work well at the box office. Wahaan bhi hafte mein 2-3 picture picture banti hai but woh kuch khaas karti nahi hai (2-3 movies are released every week in the South too, but they all don’t do too well). The mantra is the same everywhere. If you make good films, they’ll work.

Sikandar marks Salman Khan and Rashmika Mandanna’s first collaboration. Apart from Salman Khan and Rashmika, the project also features Kajal Aggarwal, Sathyaraj and Sharman Joshi in important roles. Sikandar hits the theatres this Sunday, March 30.