Salman Khan was ‘mentally, physically drained' after Baba Siddique's death, reveals Sikandar co-star: ‘He was in pain’

During the filming of Sikandar, Salman Khan dealt with a rib injury and the shocking murder of friend, Baba Siddique, but continued to show up on set.

Bollywood actor Salman Khan endured one of the most challenging phases of his life during the making of Sikandar. In October 2024, he was left devastated by the murder of his close friend and politician, Baba Siddique. The incident sent shockwaves across the film industry and led to heightened security concerns around the actor. At the same time, Salman was also dealing with a painful rib injury while continuing to shoot for the film.

Vishal Vashishtha on working with Salman Khan in Sikandar

Vishal Vashishtha revealed Salman Khan worked through pain and grief after Baba Siddique's death.

Reflecting on that period, his Sikandar co-star Vishal Vashishtha revealed in a recent interview with Free Press Journal that despite the emotional turmoil and physical discomfort, Salman remained committed to work and continued filming even as his personal life was going through a turbulent phase.

Vishal recalled Salman shooting Sikandar under extremely difficult circumstances. He said, "He was mentally and emotionally drained, and physically as well, he was going through a lot. We saw it ourselves; it wasn’t a made-up story, it was real. He would walk slowly and somehow finish the scene. The moment the director called cut, he would go back and get physiotherapy done. He needed to stay mobile because he had to perform all those action sequences. He was in pain, yet he kept going. There was a life-threatening situation outside, but he was still showing up. It was tough."

Vishal further revealed that the action sequences in the film were scheduled later because Salman needed time to recover. He said, "By the last day, he had improved a little physically. Before that, during the household scenes, he was struggling. And by struggling, I mean even getting up from a chair and sitting down was very difficult for him. You have to give him the benefit of the doubt because it was clearly a struggle. And with everything that was happening in the background, it couldn’t have been easy. Just dealing with the number of security personnel around you all the time is suffocating. It was a very difficult situation."

What happened to Salman Khan?

In October 2024, Baba Siddique, 66, was shot dead outside his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra East, Mumbai. He was declared dead after being taken to Lilavati Hospital with two gunshot wounds to the chest. The three assailants reportedly had links to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which has long targeted Salman Khan over allegations that the actor hunted a blackbuck, an animal considered sacred by the Bishnoi community.

According to reports, during questioning, one of the accused revealed that Salman Khan had also been on the gang’s hit list but was difficult to reach because of his tight security arrangements. Following Baba Siddique’s death, Salman reportedly received fresh death threats and was subsequently provided with Y+ security cover. Around the same time, the actor also revealed that he was battling a rib injury, which caused delays on the sets of Sikandar.