Salaar is the movie that has attracted the whole attention of Indian filmmakers and ordinary going-to-movies audience. The movie being released on December 22nd, 2023, is a pan-India action-thriller that is fronted by none other than Prabhas, one of the most popular and bankable stars from the sphere of South Indian cinema.
The film also boasts of a stellar supporting cast comprising of Prithviraj Sukumaran, Meenakshi Choudhary, Shruti Haasan, Jagapathi Babu, and Tinnu Anand. The direction department of the film is spearheaded by none other than Prashant Neel who rose to stardom with his blockbuster KGF series having a pan-Indian appeal. The film has a budget of Rs 400 crore and is expected to be a two-part series.
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Prabhas | Deva alias "Salaar" |
| Prithviraj Sukumaran | Vardharaja "Vardha" Mannar, |
| Raja Mannar’s son and Deva’s best friend | |
| Shruti Hassan | Aadhya |
| Jagapathi Babu | Raja Mannar |
| Tinnu Anand | Gaikwad alias "Baba" |
| Easwari Rao | Deva’s mother |
| Ramachandra Raju | Naarang |
The movie revolves around the story of Deva who is a gang leader and his childhood friend and also a prince of a small kingdom Vardha helps to save his throne from a coup. Deva is a man, ruthless at heart and brave-hearted.
He wouldn't think twice before chopping the head off if they happen to come his way. In fact, he is loyal and loving towards his friends and well-wishers too. Vardha is a noble-hearted prince and friendly who wishes to have peace and happiness to be prevailed among his kinsmen.
He also is thankful and respectful for Deva as he always has supported him in all the situations. The film showcases the bond between the two friends and their struggle against the enemies who want to destroy them.
The critics have provided nothing less than great appraisal for the enthralling story, fine acting performances, as well as adrenaline pumping action sequences combined with sound special effects. The technicalities of the movie, which encompasses the cinematography, editing, as well the music and sound design, were also lauded.
Comparisons on the brilliance of the film to some of the finest Hollywood's action films, comprising The Godfather, The Dark Knight, and Mad Max, amongst others, were actually already being drawn. The movie has also been acclaimed as a pathbreaker for the Indian film industry in the sense that it broke across the language, region, genre, and catered to pan-Indian and overseas audiences.
Additionally, the movie has also smashed numerous records at the box office and turned out to be one of the highest grossing Indian films of all time. The movie has collected around worldwide in its first weekend which is the highest opening weekend collection for a South Indian film.
The movie has fared better than Dinky, a film by Shah Rukh Khan and Rajkumar Hirani that released a day before Salaar. Dinky is a comedy drama film in which Shah Rukh Khan enacts the role of a former soldier who helps the friends' group from Punjab immigrate to England through an illegal route.
Overall, the film has garnered a lukewarm response from the critics as well as audiences and has fallen flat in meeting the expectations of Shah Rukh Khan's fans. First-weekend collection of Salaar is more than the total first four days worldwide collection of the film, around Rs 210 crore.
And when it comes to the Hindi belt where both the films had a direct clash, Salaar has also fared well. Salaar has scored around 70 crores in Hindi while Dinky has minted around 210 crores in Hindi.
It has also broken several records such as the highest opening day collection for a South Indian film, the highest opening weekend collection for any pan-Indian film, and eleventh highest-grossing Indian film of all time. The film has also started very well in overseas markets including USA, UAE, UK, Australia, and Canada where it has grossed around Rs 45 crore business.
However, the film still has a long way to go to recover its costs and make profits. It now needs to hold its momentum in the weeks to come and fare well if it has to break even as according to trade reports, the film needs at least Rs 400 crore from India.
Salaar Box Office Collection Table
| Day | India Net Collection |
|---|---|
| 1st day (1st Thursday) | ₹90.7 Cr |
| 2nd day (1st Saturday) | ₹55.00 Cr |
| 3rd day (1st Sunday) | ₹64.07 Cr |
| 4th day (1st Monday) | ₹42.50 Cr |
| 5th day (1st Tuesday) | ₹23.50 Cr |
| 6th day (1st Wednesday) | ₹17.00 Cr |
| 7th day (1st Thursday) | ₹13.50 Cr |
| 8th day (2nd Friday) | ₹10.00 Cr |
| 9th day (2nd Saturday) | ₹12.55 Cr |
| 10th day (2nd Sunday) | ₹14.50 Cr |
| 11th day (2nd Monday) | ₹15.50 Cr |
| 12th day (2nd Tuesday) | ₹7.50 Cr |
| 13th day (2nd Wednesday) | ₹5.25 Cr |
| 14th day (2nd Thursday) | ₹4.50 Cr |
| 15th day (2nd Friday) | ₹3.50 Cr |
| Total | ₹381.60 Cr |
While over the next few weeks, other releases which include Leo, Pushpa, RRR will also challenge the film. Leo is an upcoming Indian film in the Tamil language of the sci-fi thriller genre featuring Akshay Kumar and directed by Shankar, expected to sight indulge. Pushpa is an upcoming Indian film in the Telugu language of the action drama genre starring Allu Arjun and directed by Sukumar, based on the red sanders smuggling that's been historic in Andhra Pradesh.
RRR is a period action drama film directed by SS Rajamouli and has Ram Charan and Jr NTR in lead roles, which will be based on the lives of two freedom fighters. All these films have gained a huge fan following and they are expected to give a tough competition to Salaar.
It will be interesting to see how Salaar fares in the long run and whether it would be able to cross a 400 crore mark at the box office. The film had been creating a lot of hype and curiosity among the moviegoers well in advance and proved to be a sensation.
It also challenged the dominance of Bollywood and showed how South Indian cinema can really give stiff competition if it has the right canvass. The film has also established Prabhas as a pan-Indian star and Prashant Neel as a visionary director.
The film has also set the stage for the second part of the series which with Yash stepping into Bollywood in the sequel is expected to be bigger and better. Salaar being an epic movie broke a record and raised the tale of Indian cinema. Stay tuned to ivntv.com for many other fantastic articles. –(IVNTV)