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THE film is wildly over-the-top, gory and at times too long but entertaining and is sure to provide lead Telugu star Prabhas the big comeback his fans have been waiting for.
Directed by Prashanth Neel, who previously directed the KGF movies, ‘Salaar’ follows the story of the friendship between Deva (Prabhas) and Varadha (Prithviraj). But that’s oversimplifying the plot; ‘Salaar’ is like an entire season of ‘Game of Thrones’ mixed in with ‘John Wick’.
And that includes all the good and the bad that comes with that combination.
Aadhya (Shruti Hassan), who has been hiding from a criminal gang, finds herself being hunted by a shadowy network on her return to India. The only place she is safe is with Deva and his overprotective mother. There are very few actual action scenes in the first half of the movie, despite the promises made by Neel.
Deva seems to be controlling himself from doing anything rash, and his mother seems scared of what her son could do. But Neel cleverly piques the audience’s interest with minor flashbacks and indications of Deva’s violent past.
By the time the first action scene does break out, audiences are frothing at the mouth just to see some carnage on screen. Well, be careful what you wish for because, after that first fight scene, the action doesn’t stop.
The second half introduces us to Khansaar, a fictional kingdom in India with a 1,000-year-old history full of bloodshed and violence. The rest of the story is told in the form of flashbacks with heavy exposition littered throughout about how Khansaar came to be, about the friendship between Deva and Varadha and about how they are now mortal enemies.
The Good: Neel has fine-tuned his style of directing with ‘Salaar’. Although the entire movie seems to share a colour palette with his KGF movies, the composition of certain shots and the storytelling aspect of certain scenes seem more deliberate than they seemed before.
Most of the cast do an excellent job, with Prabhas and Prithviraj being the leading forces. Their chemistry and bond is what manages to drive the storyline through some of its more boring parts.
Neel has also done an excellent job in world-building. The history, traditions, rules and overall vibe of Khansaar is very well laid out.
Prabhas does a commendable job, leaning more into his overall aura, imposing figure and incredible screen presence rather than on his acting skills. But that can be chalked up to the screenplay calling for him to be stoic.
Prithviraj, on the other hand, has a lot many emotional scenes, which he nails on the head each time. He combined with a stellar and stacked supporting cast are some of the best components of the movie.
The Bad: The movie has a run-time of nearly three hours – too long. There are entire stretches that affect pacing within this movie that could’ve been cut down and it would’ve made for a much tauter entertainer.
As I said, Neel has done an excellent job in world-building. But one of the disadvantages of this is the sheer amount of information thrown at the audience. We’re introduced to the world of Khansaar, its history, its form of government and its key players. This means that in the second half of the movie, we’re expected to learn and remember the names of more than 15 people. It does get confusing by the end of it.
The actual action and fight scenes are also incredibly confusing, mostly due to the quick-cut editing that’s gone into portraying these scenes. The scenes look more like individual paintings of a fight scene rather than a carefully choreographed action scene.
Verdict: Salaar has its ups and downs, but it’s a very entertaining movie to sit through.
P.S.: The movie is available for viewing in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu with English subtitles.
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