2024-02-09 09:51:00
As soon as the trailer was released, the film gained widespread attention on social media with the slogan ‘Include religion in the game’. Also, let’s see if Rajini’s special appearance, ‘Lal Salaam’, which has been released with expectations of Aishwarya Rajinikanth’s direction after a long gap, has lived up to those expectations.
Muslims and Hindus live as brothers and sisters in Murarbad, a Muslim-majority village. Moideen Bhai’s (Rajinikanth) son, Samsuddin (Vikrant), who moves to Mumbai at a young age to become a big businessman, and his close friend’s son Thiru (Vishnu Vishal) have been the mouse and the tiger since childhood.
A small conflict in a cricket match erupts into a big riot and creates a big divide between the Hindu-Muslim people who used to be brothers and sisters. Following this, when the Hindu people decide to hold a festival in the village, the festival is prevented by the conspiracy of a political party. ‘Lal Salam’ talks about whether there was unity between Hindus and Muslims, whether the festival took place and Moideen Bhai’s role in this.
Aishwarya Rajinikanth can be heartily applauded for taking up such a plot in the context of religious debates. He succeeds to some extent in conveying the important idea to the audience through the dialogues required for the scenes without forcing him with the propaganda that he is emphasizing religious harmony.
The first half of the film tells about the people living in the village of Murarbad, the rivalry between Vishnu Vishal and Vikrant, how the hatred spread in the game slowly affects the village in a non-linear manner. Vishnu Vishal, who comes out of jail following the riots, the problems he faces, and a love song in between, the film picks up steam after Rajini’s entry.
A mass intro scene for Rajini that is reminiscent of Rajini movies released in recent years. Also, the song ‘Jalali Jalali’ in Rahman’s voice is sure to be a treat for Rajini fans. To do justice to it, Rajini’s character design is also special.
With sharp dialogues and a mature character suitable for his age, he carries the entire film with his on-screen personality. Though advertised as a special appearance, almost the entire film is dominated by Rajini. Rajini’s dialogues about religious harmony make the stage vibrate. In particular, the scenes of Rajini speaking at a meeting to promote peace between Hindus and Muslims are goosebumps.
The problem with the film is that the first half is told non-linearly. Since both the present and the past occur within a gap of six months, it becomes confusing to understand the difference between the two. The scenes move one after the other in a non-boring way, but the aimless going somewhere leads to a lack of connection with the film at any point.
Advertised as a sports plot, the film has very little cricket-related scenes. There is no excitement or pressure in them. They are confused as to whether the theme of the film is the festival or cricket. Could have paid more attention to editing. Many scenes are unrelated to each other.
Apart from Rajini, Vishnu Vishal, Vikrant, Thambi Ramaiah, Senthil, Jeevita, Vivek Prasanna, Munnar Ramesh have done their part well. Anantika Sanilkumar, who is paired opposite Vishnu Vishal, has contributed to only one song. I don’t know if the scenes of Tanya Balakrishna, who is said to be the main character in the film, are not big (cut?) because of the social media controversy. Even if it comes for a minute or two in the final scene, he impresses.
AR Rahman’s background score is noteworthy. The song ‘Anbalane’ in Deva’s voice melts the heart. A special feature is the Theerth festival song, a song that uses the late Shahul Hameed’s voice through AI.
Emotional scenes are well done at many places in the film. Especially the scenes where Senthil talks about his son’s family and Rajini cries ‘Allah’ thinking about his son in the hospital are moving.
Amidst the barrage of religious hurling on social media, the film ‘Lal Salaam’, which carries a key message with the ‘brand’ of Rajini, can be welcomed. It would have been more celebrated if the screenplay had been refined and the scenes added more pressure.
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