Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire

Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Prabhas, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Shruti Haasan, Jagapathi Babu, Easwari Rao, Bobby Simha, Tinu Anand & others

Director: Prashanth Neel

What’s Good: Prabhas getting a character that’s high on adrenaline rush after a long time

What’s Bad: Length & overdramatization at several points

Loo Break: You’ll need more than one due to the length of the film

Watch or Not?: If you’re enjoying the current season of mass entertainers, go for it!

Language: Playing in five Indian languages – Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam & Kannada

Available On: Theatrical release

Runtime:  2 hours and 56 minutes

User Rating:

In the violent city of Khansaar, Deva (Prabhas) and Vardha (Prithviraj) are close friends. Deva, filled with anger, is always ready to take on anyone if Vardha is in trouble. However, due to some circumstances, Vardha asks his best friend to leave the place, but Deva promises to return whenever Vardha needs him.

Far away from Khansaar, Deva is living his life peacefully and avoids any kind of violence as promised to his mother. On the other side, the father of Vardha, Raja Mannar (Jagapathi Babu), plans to make his son his successor in Khansaar. But Raja Mannar’s own ministers and advisors plan to kill Vardha in a battle for the throne. Then comes a day, after 25 years, when Vardha calls his friend Deva to help him.

The next that follows is bloodshed and much suspense, eventually leading to part two.

Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire Movie Review: Script Analysis

So basically, it’s a tale of a friendship with a backdrop of bloodshed that’s going on for the throne. The story appears to be simple, but Prashanth Neel has tweaked it in his own style. Neel never likes things happening in their simple form and loves making them complex to keep the attention of viewers hooked. He has used flashbacks conveniently to narrate the story. However, sometimes it gets too complicated to understand.

We understand that Prabhas is being presented as a silent, angry man who is living his life with a lot of anger suppressed inside him. But to establish his character, Neel goes overboard by showing that Deva eats red chili powder with his food. I mean, that’s too much! Also, the angle between Deva and his mother appears too dramatic. While the friendship angle is presented well, at times, Deva’s obsession with Vardha seems unconvincing. Neel could have involved a certain backstory about how the bond between Deva and Vardha became so strong.

The cinematography by Bhuvan Gowda is good, and you get that KGF vibe while watching every frame. His work excels in fight scenes and has captured the film’s grandeur really well. Action scenes are well choreographed, especially Prabhas’ first fight sequence and the one where he fights with an axe.

Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire Movie Review: Star Performance

Prabhas finally gets the character that suits his persona. His performance as a lover boy or a godly figure was a huge letdown, but this ‘angry young man’ role is apt for him. Like Deva, he doesn’t talk much, but the intensity through his eyes is on point. He is simply effortless in action, and his overall screen presence is powerful.

Prithviraj Sukumaran as Vardha is believable, and his subtle act flows with the film. His on-screen camaraderie with Prabhas also seems natural and doesn’t look forced by any chance.

Shruti Haasan has limited screen time and only gets a little to add. All others, including Jagapathi Babu and Tinu Anand, have done their job well.