Salaar: Cease Fire - Part 1

Salaar has been my most-awaited film for 2023. It ticks most of the boxes for the mass movie fan in me: A mass movie focused on a single character dominance, Neel directorial which is usually a no-nonsense action movie with cracking goosebump scenes and a much awaited comeback for Prabhas who is tailor made for characters like this amongst other things. Salaar somehow touches most of these boxes but does not check it wholeheartedly.

I will approach this review differently by describing how different aspects of the movie works but falls short somehow:

The Plot/Story: This is definitely the most complex storyline of a Prashant Neel movie. While the plot gets really interesting towards the end, you tend to realize that a lot of time was wasted in the first half for no good reason. Eventually the movie leaves a lot to be explored in Part 2 but I feel there could be too much left to show in Part 2 and I'm afraid there is going to be a tough job for editors. It is also quite a risky move to have not even planned to shoot Part-2 yet (which Neel has admitted in interviews) with so much left to be told.

The Action: Finally Prabhas gets his groove back with the action sequences which perfectly suit his body language. There are some great creative choices on some of the action scenes which are definitely bound to get cheers in the cinema halls although they aren't entirely logical. There are creative killings which justify the A rating but they were definitely not necessary for the plot, not that I'm complaining. But I would have definitely loved to see some more physical effort from the lead characters for some of the action scenes. At times it is just too cool and too easy.

Screenplay: Prashant Neel's strength has been screenplay over the storyline in his past movies but in Salaar it is the other way around. The movie does follow the traditional way of telling flashback stories like most mass movies but as the movie gets close to the end, there is no payback to the flashback narration. The movie ends like an interval scene which we have seen in most of the mass movies. This ending makes the first half screenplay seem pretty odd.

Dialogues: Neel's previous works have always boasted of minimal but impactful dialogues. While Uggram had some of the best written Kannada lines, KGF had very quirky and mass one liners especially with a good mix of Hindi. There aren't any trademark dialogues in Salaar which will etch in one's memory but Prabhas and Prithwiraj's does have some fun one liner exchanges. Those also serve as the little humour element in this movie. Dialogues are well written but it is not something you'd remember it for years to come.

Music and Background Score: Most of us were already slightly disappointed with the background score of Ravi Basrur in KGF 2 as compared to KGF 1. Unfortunately the background score doesn't really match up to Prabhas' screen presence and build up for most parts in the first half, especially for his introduction sequence. The music and background score does get better in the second half and there's a 'main theme music' which could have been made better use of in the first half as well. Overall, the background score falls short of creating some major goosebump moments leading up to the fight.

Cinematography, Editing and Visuals: Bhuvan Gowda continues his stellar form with some great shots and he manages to showcase Prabhas at his best. Aerial shots and shots of the city landscape totally reminds you of KGF 2 in many parts but not in a bad way. The visual effects team have done a great job in showcasing completely imaginary cities, towns and walls. The choice of using Neel's favourite dark-tone does seem excessive at times. Dare I say that they also have done a good job in digitally modifying Prabhas' looks in some scenes, and yes it is evident. While the action sequences are edited well, the same cannot be said about the shifts that we experience in some of the dramatic sequences. While the set design of Khansaar kingdom does remind you of many hollywood movies, the hair and make-up department has done an exceptional job in making each character stand out.

Performances: Neel manages to explore Prabhas' strengths perfectly by writing a role which involves him being the quiet and dangerous hero. Prabhas' performance does remind one of his Chatrapathi and other mass movie days without the unnecessary comedy and duet numbers. This is definitely the much needed comeback for Prabhas. Prithwiraj does excel as Varada Raja Mannar but at least for Part 1 there isn't any USP element for his role which makes him stand out or explore his strengths. Apart from these two, there is a plethora of supporting characters of which most of them have done nothing but justice to their role. Sriya Reddy, Bobby Simha, Garuda Ram, Madhu Guruswamy, Pramod Panju and Tinu Anand are some of the highlight performers. Of course special mention to Naveen Shankar who even with a very little screen presence makes a major impact and I am quite excited to see him in part-2. Just like the other Neel movies, we do have some creative choices for character and family names.

Uggram Connection (Extra): A lot has been discussed about this movie being a remake of Uggram, but let me assure you it's not. However Neel has straight up taken some scenes and moments from Uggram and recreated them here. He does have the creative freedom to do that considering its his own work but I personally feel that he should have admitted that to the Kannada audience. I could here some gasps of disappointment in the theatres for some of the exact scenes.

Overall, Salaar makes for an almost satisfying theatrical experience but it leaves a lot of things open-ended. While it does deliver on the promise of a violent action film, it somehow fails to connect much at an emotional level. Neel continues to show how good he is at doing what he does but I feel that he does not really justify the time he has invested to bring this dinosaur finally out of its hideout.