Salaar Movie Review | Prabhas, Prithviraj
Rating: 3/5
Director: Prashanth Neel
Cast: Prabhas, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Shruti Hassan, Jagapathi Babu, Sriya Reddy, Easwari Rao
Runtime: 2h 52m
Storyline:
In the powerful, fearsome city of Khansaar, Raja Mannar (Jagapathi Babu) intends to appoint his son Vardharaja Mannar (Prithviraj) as his successor.
However, there’s a conspiracy in place to finish off Vardharaja and take control of Khansaar. Vardharaja escapes from Khaansar and enlists the help of his childhood friend Deva (Prabhas) to help defeat his enemies.
Deva dutifully returns to fight and make Vardharaja the undisputed successor of Khansaar, even though he has sworn off violence for his mother. But there is a secret about Deva’s past that will eventually pitch these best friends as each other’s foes.
Amidst the bloodbath, Raja Mannar’s daughter Radha (Sriya) proposes to keep a ceasefire, which Vardharaja intends to challenge.
Aadhya (Shruti) gets caught in the crossfire of these dangerous politics, unaware of her own connection to it.
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Salaar Movie Review:
Salaar is an entertaining massy action extravaganza. Though the initial set-up takes up the entire 1st half, the 2nd half is packed with compelling politics and fierce, high-octane stylized action sequences.
Salaar is a visually stunning, larger-than-life spectacle and the mood in the scenes is elevated by an electrifying BGM by Ravi Basrur.
But Salaar is quite the slow burn in its 1st half, taking its own sweet time to get into the heart of the matter. It is liberally sprinkled with awed whispers about Deva’s (Prabhas) supposedly legendary strength. After a while, the constant exaltation feels annoying and needs a demonstration. Which the movie does provide in the interval block.
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Salaar Movie Review:
The set design of Khansaar is quite impressive – a menacing, imposing structure indeed, imbued with power and doom.
While the 1st half lags in pacing and action, the 2nd half more than makes up for it with gratuitous violence and blood bath. There is almost an overindulgence of slow-mo action shots. While some are visually striking, the constant slow-mo punctuating every action set piece gets repetitive after a while.
In the 1st half, Prabhas’ imposing, invincible figure does the talking for him – he simmers and glowers quietly, and there’s restrained rage lurking under the surface. This lethargic demeanour takes a complete turn with the no-holds-barred, fiery display of strength in the 2nd half’s action choreography.
Salaar Movie Review:
Prabhas is amazing in the action scenes but still lacks the punch in the dramatic scenes. His energy and intensity seem solely diverted towards the violence and fizzles in the emotional moments.
On the other hand, Prithviraj is perfectly cast as the regal heir of Khansaar. He is precise, elegant and refined – an interesting contrast to Prabhas’ Deva. He doesn’t hesitate to get his hands dirty with the bloodbath in the latter half though. Prithviraj is entirely convincing in his role.
Prabhas-Prithviraj’s chemistry as best friends who eventually turn into foes is one of the highlights of the movie. The tension in the dynamic is well-balanced between the two.
From the supporting cast – Jagapathi Babu and Sriya Reddy’s performances stand out. Sriya embodies the furious indignation and the thirst for vengeance of her character quite well.
The weakest link in Salaar is Shruthi Haasan – she has limited screen time, but her bland acting and off-putting accent make it even worse. She looks pretty but doesn’t contribute anything substantial.
Hit Or Miss:
Salaar is meant to be enjoyed on the big screen and will be a hit with audiences who crave a larger-than-life action extravaganza.
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