Rating : ***

Rajinikanth has been a puzzling figure in Tamil Nadu when it comes to his ideological and political allegiance. The actor is perceived to be, like Aishwarya stated at Lal Salaam’s audio launch, a ‘sanghi’ in real life. On display, in movies like Pa Ranjith’s Kaala, he makes a case against oppression and non secular politics. Kaala doesn’t bend his knee before anybody. On the alternative hand, Rajinikanth, vocally a religious Hindu, touches the feet of CM Yogi Adithyanath. Rajini could name the inception of the Ram temple in Ayodhya a non secular event, however Moideen Bhai in Lal Salaam might churn out realistic statements towards divisive politics and says ‘spiritual systems should now not be razed down’. With the release of Lal Salaam, the anomaly persists.

Before the release, it turned into explicitly stated that Rajinikanth is best creating a unique appearance in Lal Salaam, however let’s just say the actor has considerable screen time, and he's certainly the ‘famous person’ of the film. On the opposite hand, the movie additionally has a protagonist, Thirunavukarasu aka Thiru (Vishnu Vishal). Thiru’s father and Moideen Bhai name themselves brothers from one-of-a-kind mothers, however their respective sons don’t percentage their camaraderie. From formative years, Thiru continually had a bone to choose with Samsudeen aka Samsu (Virkanth). While Moideen Bhai is going directly to emerge as an industrialist in Mumbai, Thiru and his family struggle in their native village Murarbad, which exists as a version region for religious concord between Muslims and Hindus. Moideen Bhai, of direction, is the peacekeeper. However, when Thiru grievously injures Samsu at some stage in a cricket tournament rendering him unfit for Ranji Trophy, all hell breaks loose in the peaceful village, which makes a dent in the camaraderie among Muslims and Hindus.
It is as a substitute ambitious and noble of Aishwarya Rajinikanth to make Lal Salaam as it has all the capability to rake up controversies given the sensitive situation and the cutting-edge political weather. Thiru’s all-Hindu team is called India, and Samsu’s all-Muslim crew is known as Pakistan. And they combat. There’s no subtlety right here. In a particular scene, a Hindu individual says they must have despatched the ‘others’ in a foreign country a long time ago. Moideen Bhai interrupts and makes a sturdy case against the ‘Go to Pakistan’ debate. And as a cherry on top, the climax is heartbreaking. Yet, those small redeeming elements don’t serve the movie, which is essentially a dated drama.

Director Aishwarya, who's additionally the narrator of Lal Salaam, is heard on every occasion the film fails to speak for itself. It is jarring and archaic. Even the characters like the ones performed through Senthil and Thambi Ramaiah come across as someone from the Tamil melodramas of the early ’90s. A long monologue from Senthil approximately the importance of the village pageant concluded with tears is not in track with 2024. Lal Salaam is also didactic, and AR Rahman’s initial inhibitions that the movie may turn our preachy and cringey weren’t unfounded. The message of harmony and peace is welcome. But what about the medium?
Lal Salaam teems with jarring shifts between sequences betraying shoddy craftsmanship. The romance of Vishnu Vishal is perfunctory and exists entirely to add some other tune to the album. Dhanya Balakrishna seems out of nowhere toward the tail give up of the movie to offer a few redemption to the villain, making it one huge cliche. Even the soft moments of Moideen Bhai seem redundant and sugary despite Rajinikanth’s satisfactory efforts. In the scene where Moideen Bhai is meant to jump for pleasure as Samsu receives selected for Ranji, the appearing is literal. The Superstar jumps and throws goodies and savories up inside the air. The 2nd-hand embarrassment became a bit an excessive amount of to take. That’s the hassle with Lal Salaam. Any emotion Aishwarya desires to carry through the story is ‘actually’ enacted by means of the forged. Or if the acting appears insufficient, the director motels to loaded dialogues. Or as a final hotel, she takes things into her own fingers as a narrator.