Leaked print of Salman Khan's Sikandar contains raw BGM, Kajal Aggarwal’s suicide attempt scene and...; leak happened despite warning from...

Salman Khan's much-awaited Eidi to his fans, Sikandar, was released on March 30 on Eid-ul-Fitr. However, just one night before its release, the Salman Khan film became a victim of piracy which has also impacted its box office earnings. The HD print of Sikandar was leaked just hours before the film's official release, and interestingly, it was not the final cut of the film either. Bollywood Hungama, quoting multiple sources, has now revealed the reason behind the leak and also the contents of the pirated version.

An industry expert, who watched the pirated print, told Bollywood Hungama exclusively, "The film has several scenes, which are not a part of the film’s final cut. The background score is raw. After Saisri’s (Rashmika Mandanna) death, Sikandar meets her lawyer friends; this is when he learns that she aspired to be a lawyer. There’s a scene where medical students meet Sikandar in Dharavi and inform him about the pollution woes. In the pirated print, the explanation is longer, and it gives a better idea. In the same sequence, the flashback of Kamaruddin features him falling to the ground due to his lung condition."

Sharing further insights about the pirated version of Salman Khan's Sikandar, the insider said, "Before Sikandar gets a call from Minister Pradhan (Sathyaraj) during the interval point, the former’s men are informed that Kamaruddin is not well, Vaidehi (Kajal Aggarwal) has left her house while Nisha (Anjini Dhawan) is still ill. This aspect also gives Sikandar the reason to be in Mumbai and not leave for Rajkot, apart from Pradhan’s threat that he’ll kill the organ recipients," adding, "That’s not all. There’s a scene of Vaidehi attempting to kill herself. There’s also a scene of Sikandar and Nisha in a car. The taxi driver is also shown informing Sikandar that he gave the vadams to a passenger; the same passenger later gives a big order."

As per another trade source, "In the pirated print, it’s not Iulia Vantur singing 'Lag Ja Gale'. The original Woh Kaun Thi (1964) song has been retained. Moreover, these additional scenes in the pirated version are the ones that were voluntarily removed by the makers after obtaining the censor certificate. The pirated version doesn’t have Sikandar singing ‘Ajeeb Dastaan’; this bit was added in the film when the run time was voluntarily reduced. This means that the leak could be an insider job and that it probably happened after the film was passed by the CBFC."

When asked who could have leaked the film, a distributor, on the condition of anonymity, said that it would be difficult to find out who was behind the leak.

"One needs to understand that a film file is encrypted. It can be opened only with a KDM. A KDM is not a password; it is much more complex. Not anybody can access it without permission, not even from the film’s team. There’s a theory that it may have leaked from the overseas Censor Board, but even in that case, they are sent an encrypted file. It's very rare that a censor board of a country might ask for a Vimeo file instead of an encrypted version in case the screening room is not available. But has that happened with Sikandar is something only the makers would know," they said.

Another veteran producer was quoted as saying, "Did anyone find out who leaked Udta Punjab or Great Grand Masti? Hence, I doubt the culprit who leaked Sikandar will be caught. What was shocking this time was to read that a warning was sent out from an anonymous Twitter handle, threatening to release the film’s print. This happened 4 days before the release. This is unprecedented and also shows that these troublemakers need to be brought to task. At the same time, the makers of all forthcoming films should take extra care, so that the pirates don’t get a chance to put the leaked print on the internet."

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