Lal Salaam

Despite the negative reviews I had to watch this movie, simply because you cant miss a Rajinikanth movie as a Tamil person & I didn't regret it. His role in this movie is a special appearance similar like in the movie Kuselan (2008). I really like this kind of settings for Rajini, where he isn't the main focus. It gives a very different vibe to the movie, which you normally won't get when he plays the main role.

The movie itself has its moments of weakness, especially in the first half. But in overall it is well written and thoughtful presented. Also the whole cast did a phenomenal job portraying the characters.

Definitly not as bad as all those negative reviews suggest. Watch it & make your own conclusion!

Whenever a director has to use voiceover to move the plot forward, it's a sign of poor storytelling. In this movie the director uses voice over to tell us what is happening on screen. Unnecessary symbolism sprinkled in to make it seem like an art film, but it needs a more talented story teller to pull it off. The non-linear story telling doesn't have any suspense either as there are barely any stakes.

Vishnu Vishal and Vikrant are completely wasted. The supporting cast is forgettable. Even Rajinikanth seems to be phoning his performance in.

People who've seen this will have more appreciation for Darbar and Jailer. This movie isn't even worth watching on OTT.

I don't know why this film received such low ratings. After a long time, I saw a film that delivers a positive message to society. Not only in India, but even in Sri Lanka, politicians spread racism and religious extremism to gain power until recently. We were divided. However, when our country faced hard times, we realized that we are all Sri Lankans. Our country had a 30-year war. Whether people in India believe it or not, it wasn't only Sinhalese people who destroyed terrorists; Tamil people were also destroyed. Even during such a war, we lived in harmony in the South. Now, there's even more unity among Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and Catholic people in our country. We will no longer be divided by politicians. I think the people of India should understand that too. I would love for people all over the world to look at each other as human beings and live in harmony. This is truly a good film. After a long time, even Rajinikanth has chosen a character suitable for his age.

The Plot -------------------------

Thirunavukarasu (Thiru) and Shamsuddin, two talented cricket players from Murrabad, a village where Muslims and Hindus coexist with each other, are central to the story. Under the pretense of a cricket match, local politicians take advantage of Thiru and Shamsuddin's animosity in order to spark communal unrest ahead of the next elections. During the match, Thiru hurts Shamsuddin's right hand out of rage, which leads to a major confrontation between the Muslims and Hindus of Murrabad. The plot unfolds as they navigate this communal conflict.

The Review -------------------------

If this film does become super hit, which I somehow feel it will, it will be purely because of Rajinikanth. I am confused though, can you call this a special appearance if Rajinikanth is in the majority of movie? The only time he is not there is in the middle few scenes but he is present mostly throughout the film. In any case, he is the saving grace of this film. We all know why he's in this film, his daughter is the director, but his presence elevates the film to a whole another level. He provides emotion to scenes that if he wasn't in it, would have turned out to be dull and exhausting. He provides energy to the film and I applaud him for that. I also liked the execution of the film's politics.

Vishnu Vishal and Vikranth provides decent enough performances. They gave what was required of their characters. The supporting cast did a fine job as well. However, I did feel that there were some unnecessary characters in the film, with the most noticeable being Vishnu Vishal's love interest Nandhini, played by Ananthika Sanilkumar. Even the antagonists were executed poorly and are very forgettable. Kapil Dev also has a cameo appearance in this film but he adds nothing of value to the story.

The soundtrack is fine individually but doesn't have the emotional impact when woven in as part of the narrative. It's good to listen to on YouTube but as a narrative device, it's passable. Pravin Baaskar's editing and Vishnu Rangasamy's cinematography are nothing to write home about and both lacks style.

There are logical flaws in the films as well. For example: Thiru hurts Shamsuddin's right hand out of rage, which leads to a major confrontation between the Muslims and Hindus of Murrabad. As a result, Shamsuddin's right hand needs to be amputated. This guy, around one or two nights after the surgery, ties a noose around a fan in an attempt to delete himself. How did he tie the noose with one hand in such a short time without anybody noticing? If another guy tied it, why was he not punished in the movie and if he was, why was it not shown?

Despite all of it, I strongly feel that the biggest issue with the movie is the screenplay writer and director herself, Aishwarya Rajinikanth. She doesn't add anything new to distinguish this movie from the rest as the film's primary focus on religious unrest and the Hindu-Muslim divide have already been done in older films. She could have, at the bare minimum, provided a more nuanced way of resolving the conflict instead of the one we got which felt more like a piece of convenient writing. Her direction is also mediocre as the pacing in this movie is very lethargic. There are scenes in the first half that drags on long after it's served its purpose resulting in a motionless story. Most of the second half was boring as the movie failed to provide an effective emotional connection to the situation.

In the end, if you haven't already watched this movie in theater, then I recommend waiting for the OTT release and skip the theater. This is a one time watch just for Vishnu Vishal and Rajinikanth.

That's my opinion on Lal Salaam.

Lal Salaam: a great film with a very important social message. I don't know why people are giving such bad reviews about this film.

Pros: Very engaging screenplay, Rajinikanth's character was well written, great performance by Vishnu, Vikranth and Thambi Ramaiah. BGM and songs were good Cons: Cinematography could've been better, Fight scenes could've been better.

I'm so happy that Rajnikanth took this role because the impact was so special when Rajnikanth spoke about "humanity is above religion" It is important to remember that we are all ONE, we're aren't supposed to be separated by Religion/Caste.

Jai Hind

Overall: 7/10.