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Mumbai: Following AR Murugadoss’s recent statement about Salman Khan’s working style and how it was not ‘easy’ to collaborate with him for ‘Sikandar’, the actor’s fans have hit back at the director for the film’s failure.

Murugadoss, who had delivered the 2008 blockbuster film ‘Ghajini’ with Aamir Khan, failed to impress audiences with ‘Sikandar.’

As audiences and critics criticised the film for its weak storyline, Murugadoss indirectly blamed Salman for his undisciplined working style and interference for the film’s failure. “It’s not easy to shoot with a star. Even day scenes, we have to shoot at night because he turns up on set only by 8 pm. We are used to shooting right from early mornings, but that’s not how things work there,” the director was quoted as saying by Valaipechu Voice.

He added, “If there were four kids in a scene, we would have to shoot with them at 2 am, even if it’s the shot of them returning from school! They would become tired by that time and usually dozed off.”

These remarks about Salman didn’t go down well with his fans, who took to social media to lash out at the filmmaker.

One fan wrote, “#ARMurugadoss does not acknowledge his failure. While his claims against the actor may hold some truth, but as director you r the captain of the project. If you can’t control ur cast, then the responsibility lies with you. Prod, Director and the lead actor all r responsible IMO.”

Another added, “A Good Director Should Accept the failure instead of blaming others I am highly Disappointed on #ARMurugadoss who is blaming #Salmankhan for the movie failure..Was it salman bhai who wrote the script, action sequences, VFX it was production team and you it’s clearly your fault.”

Pointing out that Murugadoss has given below average performing films with superstars like Rajinikanth as well, one fan wrote, “Sikandar didn’t work #Salman is responsible. Darbar didn’t work #Rajinikanth is responsible. So for @ARMurugadoss, blaming actors is better than making a good story.”

Dissecting the filmmaker’s box office record, one tweeted, “No doubt Salman was too bad in Sikandar but script itni waahiyat aur direction itna ghatiya tha ki movie De Niro & DiCaprio ke sath bhi disaster hi hoti. So putting all the blame on Salman alone, doesn’t make any sense! Murugadoss himself struggling for a Hit since last 11 years.”

Another commented, “Even if Tom Cruise had played the lead, this film would still have failed because there was nothing enjoyable in it. The truth is you failed as a director and missed the chance to deliver a real cinematic experience. So stop blaming #SalmanKhan and move on.”

Murugadoss had returned to Hindi cinema with ‘Sikandar’ after a hiatus of nine years.

Besides Salman, the film also starrs Rashmika Mandanna, Kajal Aggarwal, Sathyaraj, Sharman Joshi, and Prateik Babbar.

Made on a budget of ₹200 crore, the film managed to collect only ₹185 crore worldwide.