Lal Salaam Movie Review

When Superstar Rajinikanth is part of a film, you expect it to have a lot of mass and heroism, more than the actual content that he carries. However, Lal Salaam is different and that is because the star decides to put himself in a role that is strong and carries a very important message at this point in time.

Aishwarya Rajinikanth’s latest film is about the Hindu-Muslim conflict that takes place in a village in Tamil Nadu, and how forces around the central characters put in their best efforts to split the people of the town based on their religion. Enter Thiru and Shamsudeen, two characters who have a rivalry over the years not just in their cricketing straits, but right from their schooling days as well. The entire story is in how Moideen Bhai (Rajinikanth), a messiah residing in Bombay, is connected to the proceedings of the village. The first half of the film has a lot of inconsistencies in its narrative, and there is room for improvement as the staging of the scenes and the establishment of the characters could have been better. But it is in the second half that the film really shines as we have a lot of splendid emotional scenes and messages put across in the right manner. A special mention to Superstar Rajinikanth’s excellent dialogues which are all not together preached on us but handled correctly. The climax in particular is a beauty and there is lots to be liked here in how the film ends.

After years, it is nice to see Superstar Rajinikanth taking on a character driven role and he has done his job perfectly. Though there are a lot of moments for the fans, the film drives its content across keeping him as the big character.

Vishnu Vishal is excellent and he plays his part very convincingly, and it is his arc that is the core of the film. Once again, the actor ensures that he excels in the sporty department and is very convincing in the action scenes too. Vikranth offers great support to the film and is the emotional weight that holds through in the second half. The supporting characters are a bit over the top but they add together to the film’s value in totality.

The technicalities of Lal Salaam are the area which bobs down the film a bit – The cinematography is fine but the editing could have been a lot more better as it confuses the viewer to an extent. AR Rahman’s music could have been better as it works in the emotional scenes but the mass value does not come through well.

On the whole, Lal Salaam is definitely a good film from Aishwarya Rajinikanth who has worked on a tough content and delivered a fine product. The film carries itself convincingly in the second half and addresses an important topic.

Lal Salaam Movie Review Rating: 3.25/5