Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's much-hyped film, Sikandar, released on the occasion of Eid this year, but it tanked miserable at the box office. And the makers have now reportedly claimed that they incurred a whopping loss of Rs 91 crore only because of piracy.
According to a report in Bollywood Hungama, Sajid Nadiadwala's production house, which bankrolled Sikandar, is now reportedly set to file a massive insurance claim of Rs 91 crore for piracy-related losses. "This wasn’t a minor leak. The scale of circulation was unprecedented, and it had a measurable impact on the box office," the report quoted a source.
An audit was conducted and it was found that the film got leaked online within few hours of its release, and some copies got out even before the Sikandar hit the theatres. The pirated version was being circulated via encrypted messaging platforms and unauthorised streaming sites, the report added.
The makers also mentioned that the pirated version of Sikandar that was being circulated online had scenes that were not included in the final theatrical version. "The background score in many places was raw. There were several scenes that did not exist in the theatrical version - like one where medical students meet Sikandar in Dharavi, a longer flashback of Kamaruddin collapsing due to lung disease, and a sequence involving Sikandar learning about Rashmika’s character’s aspirations to become a lawyer," the report stated.
Sikandar, which also starred Rashmika Mandanna, marked Salman's first collaboration with Ghajini director, AR Murugadoss. Despite all the promotions and buzz, the film failed to impress the audience.
Sikandar was mounted on a mammoth budget of Rs 200 crore, but it managed to earn only Rs 175 crore globally. Post its theatrical release, it was bashed once again after it got dropped on Netflix.
