#Salaar Review

#Salaar

2023 - Telugu

Starring: Prabhas , Prithviraj, Shruthi Hassan , Jagapathi Babu , Sriya Reddy  , Mime Gopi,Bobby Simha and Eswari Rao

Directed by Prashanth Neel

Plot : Set in a Fictional City Khansaar, Salaar focuses about the Friendship of Two Best Friends Deva and Varadha. When Varadha, who becomes a King Candidate, he is faced by multiple enemies and requests Deva's Help to reclaim his throne. Rest of the plot focuses on how the internal war happend and how it impacted both Deva and Varadha's Life.

Performance wise it is a Prabhas show all the way. Man hasn't look so fit and energetic in a while. While there are few CG shots and Dupe shots, majority of his performance as Devaratha Raisaar is convincing. Prithviraj  is the MVP of the film ! Man gets a meaty role and perfoms outstandingly. Shruthi Hassan plays the Female , what starts as a Meaty Role is reduced down to a caricaturish role. Her Accent and her acting both were so amateurish and horrible. Jagapathi Babu gets a limited role , but Sriya Reddy gets a meaty one and outscores JB. Bobby Simha comes as surprise. Mime Gopi gets a good role. Eswari Rao character looks a bit over the top at times.

Technically the film is pretty decent. Ravi Basrur's BGM is great at times but also at some points the scenes required more powerful bg. Soreede song was great. Bhuvan Gowda's Monochromatic Cinematography sets up the mood for the film properly. Editing by Ujwal was peculiar and interesting at places. Average VFX. Special Mention to Anbariv Masters Fight Choreography. Also to the Art Directors for Designing the Khansaar Set Pieces.

Writer - Director Prashanth Neel has taken the Soul of his Debut Film "Ugramm" starring SriiMurali and has retold it in a larger scale. While the story is simple and Predictable, The Elevations and Exaggerated Vision is what makes this film click till an extent. The Backstory of Khansaar was so skillfully crafted and lore behind it makes it even more believable. The camaraderie that Prabhas and Prithviraj shares is so organic. The Film has a rocky start but post the first 40 mins the film goes into mad rush and stays in that zone till the Climax. The Interval Buildup by Sriya Reddy was peak theatrical moment.

On the Flipside, The Film does suffer a slight KGF hangover here and there. But the main issue comes in the form of Runtime. The First Half which is roughly 1hr 15 mins is literally just a couple of scenes which try to do the worldbuilding but the Second Half such roughly runs around 1hr 45 mins gets a bit streched beyond a point. The Mother Son Bonding between Eswari Rao and Prabhas is somewhere missing the spark that audience felt while watching KGF.The Shurthi Hassan role comes out as a complete joke at times. The First Half Eswari Rao scenes which are meant to be serious unfortunately end up getting gags at theatre.

Salaar is by far Prashanth Neel's Most Outlandish Outing yet. He tries to do whatever he couldn't do in KGF. While the Story Set in Khaansar is definitely interesting, the First Half of the film in Present Times doesn't pique the Interest of the viewers. All Said and Done , Salaar barring all the minor Negatives works out as a whole due to its staging of Mass Moments with A In Form Prabhas supported by Ravi Basrur's Thumping Background Score.

Highlights :

1)Colamine Fight

2) Pre Interval Fight

3) Khansaar Backstory

4) Girl Rescue Scene

5)Court Scene 

6)Final Revalation and the Lead to Sequel.

Overall: Salaar is a complex yet engaging drama that heavily depends upon on Prabhas's Dinosaur like screen presence! Watch it for the Mind Blowing Theatrical Experience in a packed theatre!!

Rating : 3-3.5/5

Digital Rights: Netflix (All Languages)