Big-budget script, TV serial treatment

Sheetal

‘Two friends in a fictional war-torn city and some unforeseeable circumstances draw a divide between them’ — that’s probably one of the most worked upon loglines ever for any film. But trust Prashanth Neel, who delivered ‘KGF Chapter 2’, the second-highest grossing film of 2022, to work around this theme. ‘Salaar’, however, is a letdown by the director on many fronts. Only the lead actors, Prabhas and Prithviraj Sukumaran, do the heavy lifting.

Just like in ‘KGF’, here too one finds unabashed violence, hooliganism, high-octane action sequences, and some suspense. The screenplay and dubbed dialogues are weak and do not touch an emotional chord. The non-linear pattern of storytelling has not been used to its advantage. For a two-hour, 51-minute movie, to have a weak first half spells ‘failure’. If it were not for the review, or die-hard fans of Prabhas, I wonder if one would even stay for the climax.

While the first half leaves you clueless and you feel as if you’ve missed ‘Part Zero’ or a preview to the main film, the second half answers the whys. For a two-part ‘Salaar’(Salaar: Part 2 — Shouryanga Parvam, releasing soon as unveiled in the climax) Neel might have tried to build a strong foundation but it seems all the budget went into bringing big names — actors, cinematographer (Bhuvan Gowda) and action directors Anbumani and Arivumani. Had he given more thought to the screenplay, dialogues and background score, it would have turned out to be a better product. Even the cliffhanger isn’t 20 per cent of “Kattapa ne Baahubali ko kyun maara?” This time, Neel gave a TV serial treatment to a big-budget script.

The camaraderie or bromance between Prabhas and Prithviraj Sukumaran is the saving grace. Prabhas as Deva/Salaar delivers more with his action. Prabhas pulls off violence with innocence as every time he unleashes havoc on the enemy, he endearingly says, ‘Sorry Yaar’. Sukumaran as Vardha is also a likeable character and holds promising potential for an upcoming Part 2. As you are time and again taken back to ‘KGF’, the director seems to be in a hurry to create his own crime universe withYash, the lead actor of ‘KGF’, and Prabhas at the centrestage. The reference to mining, oppression of the labour class and the game of power are Neel’s favourite themes. But most importantly, the so-called democratic system, with leaders, police and the military all acting like cowards or fans of these violent heroes, is still incomprehensible.

Just one advice, while creating a dystopian place with an autocratic rule, why not keep geography out of it and keep the names fictional, and not confuse the audience.

An applause for Neel for taking ‘KGF’ feedback seriously and bringing in more women characters. Except for the lead heroine, Shruti Haasan, every other female character is well etched. Neel has left too much work for the second part.

Watch at your own risk because it’s something that can’t be fixed with a ‘Sorry Yaar’from Prabhas.