Salaar: Ceasefire - fellowship of the nose-ring

 

Salaar: Part 1 - Ceasefire

2023, pan-Indian

 

Director: Prashanth Neel

 

Stars: Prabhas, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Shruti Hasan, Jagapathi Babu, Bobby Simha

 

Mohan's Measure - not a star in sight

 

It is without doubt telling when the term pan-Indian always winds up referring to 3 hours of sweat, machismo and brutal bloodshed.  If that is the new India, then I can only ask what was wrong with the old one.

Salaar is yet another attempt to play off the epic action genre of Bahubali to create what one hopes will be another series of blockbusters.  This time the man who has already made one, KGF, tries his hand at it.  And, as would be expected, it fails.

The creation of a feudal rogue state allows us to play out the Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Bahubali, even a zombie movie, along with the worst from one's own movies to once again depict a sweaty, muscle-bound, anti-hero proving his super-hero-ness in an amoral, Mad Max- like world.  Lest we not forget, something should be said about the bromance from RRR, too.  Sadly, the only break from the monotony are the moments when Shruti Hasan appears on the screen as the poor woman who has to listen to this pulp, all the while hoping all the hype about RRR does not apply here.

When will Indian writers and directors get off their hind legs long enough to understand that a formulaic plot does not make a script, and plagiarism can only last so long?   I am not sure if my own behind can withstand another 3 hours of this.  But, yes, in case you are curious, a sequel is in the works.