Salaar: Too gory for a movie
Released in the final week of December 2023, ‘Salaar Part 1: Ceasefire’ is the story of a gang leader and a promise he made to a dying friend. Salaar is now streaming on Netflix
When I realised Salaar was a Malayalam movie, I was motivated to watch a larger-than-life action cinema. I wanted to come out from a daily dose of mundane trivialities. I enjoy South Indian movie stars' action sequences that I myself can never be able to perform. I have also observed how their screenplays display 'justice is done' to many social ills.
Those cinemas contain quite a lot of violence, and I understand that. However, 'Salaar' displays too many violent actions; blood is omnipresent throughout the movie. Beheading, stabbing, dismemberment and de-limbing - all seemed so unprecedented that even a Viking movie would be dwarfed in terms of showcasing violence.
However, Prashanth Neel, the director, may have his own reasons for scripting them into the story. I did not feel like watching after a while, but I kept going as I tried to figure out the story's message.
The word Salaar means a leader. The director left the message open for the audiences to interpret. Salaar explores themes of power, loyalty, brotherhood, family and the consequences of one's actions. It can also be viewed as a reflection of the nature of power and the intricate web of relationships that govern it.
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When the curtain falls, a leader stands out in front of the audience, but he has to kill hundreds of people and rivals to become a leader. If I compare the narrative of power-mongering in the world a thousand years ago, or six thousand years ago, to the 2024-world of ours, I can conclude that we humans were always like that. We poach one another for power – killing for power is a subconscious addiction for us.
That could be the ultimate message of the movie.
Salaar's narrative is one of the most non-linear ones I have ever watched. I loved the scriptwriters' sense of depth in the storytelling, and they allowed me to piece together the plot as it unfolded.
The film's strength lies in its mythical world-building to establish Khansaar - an unvanquished imaginary kingdom. This part of the movie is rich in details and lore, setting the stage for a complex political and social landscape, fusing the ancient with the present-day, where the ancient and modern-day weapons are shown to be used side by side.
To my mind, the message was clear – humans always killed humans no matter which nationality they had – Greeks to Romans, to Africans to Mahabharatians, to Europeans - all had to kill for hegemony.
This message may justify the goriness of the movie. But will the audience be able to comprehend the message?
