Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire

Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Prashanth Neel
Written by	Prashanth Neel
Story by	Prashanth Neel
Dialogues by	Sandeep Reddy Bandla Hanumaan Choudary Dr. Suri
Based on	Ugramm by Prashanth Neel
Produced by	Vijay Kiragandur
Starring	Prabhas Prithviraj Sukumaran
Cinematography	Bhuvan Gowda
Edited by	Ujwal Kulkarni
Music by	Ravi Basrur
Production company	Hombale Films
Distributed by	see below
Release date	22 December 2023
Running time	175 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Budget	₹270 crore
Box office	est. ₹391.5 crore

Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire (transl. Commander) is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language epic action film written and directed by Prashanth Neel and produced by Vijay Kiragandur. It stars Prabhas and Prithviraj Sukumaran, with a supporting cast that includes Shruti Haasan, Jagapathi Babu, Bobby Simha, Tinnu Anand, Easwari Rao, Sriya Reddy and Ramachandra Raju. Set in the fictional dystopian city-state of Khansaar, the film follows the friendship between Deva (Prabhas), a tribesman and Varadha (Prithviraj), the prince of Khansaar. When a coup d'état is planned by his father's ministers and his relatives, Varadha enlists Deva's help to become Khansaar's undisputed ruler.

The film's initial story was pitched from Neel's debut film Ugramm and is the maiden part of a two-part film. It was officially announced in December 2020 under the title Salaar, however, in July 2023, the official title was announced as Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire. Principal photography commenced in January 2021 in Telangana, later followed with a schedule in Hyderabad, which again was followed by another schedule near the latter location, which was again followed by a sporadic schedule in Italy and wrapped by early-December 2023. The film has music composed by Ravi Basrur, cinematography handled by Bhuvan Gowda and editing by Ujwal Kulkarni.

Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire was theatrically released in India on 22 December 2023 and received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics.

Plot

In 1985 Khansaar, a puissant city-state, a tribesman, Deva, and the King Raja Mannar's son, Vardharaja "Vardha" Mannar, are inseparable companions. After Raja Mannar commands the decimation of Shouryaanga tribe, a mob pounces on Deva and his mother at their residence, but Vardha intercedes for them and confers an important territory of his in exchange for sparing their lives. Before exiting Khansaar, Deva vows to return on Vardha's call.

In 2017, a tycoon, Krishnakanth's daughter, Aadhya, flies to Varanasi from New York, to finish her mother's last rites. This alerts her father's old rivals, who conspire to abduct her, but Krishnakanth enlists the assistance of Bilal, who thwarts the enemies' attempts to seize her and safeguards her at his friend, Deva's place in Tinsukia, Assam. There, she pretends to be an English teacher at a school where Deva's mother is the headmaster at. Eventually, she is traced to Tinsukia where upon his mother's reluctant orders, Deva hinders the goons' attempts to capture her. Dreading for Deva, his mother plans to abscond with him, while Aadhya and Bilal are carried off in a convoy led by a man named Rinda and one that is sealed with the mysterious emblem of Khansaar. Witnessing this, Deva's mother signals him to rescue Aadhya and Bilal. He refrains the convoy, grabbing the attention of Vardha and his step-sister, Radha Rama Mannar, who has ordered Aadhya's abduction to avenge something Krishnakanth has committed against her, in Deva's favour, seven years ago. Radha admits to strategizing the events to pit Deva and Vardha against each other since opposing the seal of Khansaar is a crime and the perpetrator has to be killed, a rule that Deva himself is told to have imposed years ago. After the rescue, Bilal recounts the tale of Khansaar and all of their connections to it for Aadhya.

In 1127, notorious dacoits comprised three tribes: the Mannars, Shouryaangas, and Ghaniyaars. They consolidated their influence over an area called Khansaar. In 1947, after the Indian independence, Raja Mannar's father, Siva Mannar, the chieftain of the Mannar tribe, refused Khansaar to be a part of the country and governed by the Constitution of India. He signed a pact with the Indian government that retained Khansaar's autonomy and erased its existence from the map. He segregated Khansaar into 101 parts and appointed Kapus to head them. In the hierarchy, above the Kapus were Doras, who were feudal lords submissive to the King. After Siva Mannar's demise in 1985, Dhaara, the chieftain of the Shouryaanga tribe, was democratically elected by the assembly to be the next King, but Raja Mannar usurped the throne by assassinating Dhaara and exterminated the entire Shouryaanga tribe. Subsequently, he recruited his close confidants and family as Doras to superintend the city-state. In 2010, Bhaarava, Raja Mannar's son-in-law, pleaded with him to consider reconciling with Vardha, who was banished in 1985 for giving away his territory to a Ghaniyaar tribesman. Raja Mannar commanded Ranga (whose father Vardha bribed his territory to in 1985), one of the Doras, to sacrifice his position for Vardha's sake and thus, he was instilled with rage and jealousy towards Vardha, while Raja Mannar's children from his first wife, Rudra Raja Mannar and Radha Rama Mannar, were against this decision. Raja Mannar temporarily delegated his responsibilities to Radha Rama and left Khansaar to look over a concerning issue.

In order to prevent violence in his absence, Radha Rama proposed imposing a ceasefire, but her decision was opposed to a large extent and a voting on whether to lift the ceasefire or impose it was supposed to be scheduled after nine days. Immediately, all the Doras and Kapus brought powerful mercenary armies from Serbia, Austria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Russia and South Sudan with the intent of usurping the throne as soon as the voting ended. Vardha, meanwhile, turned to Deva, who resided in Bharucha, Gujarat with his mother. Deva re-entered Khansaar and for most of the days, tolerated the humiliation of Vardha. However, he eventually fought and murdered Vishnu, son of Narang, one of the Doras, as he tried to force a young girl into prostitution; instigated by Bhaarava, Rudra pit Narang against Vardha and directed him to punish Vardha during the trial, instead of Deva. During the trial, an infuriated Deva slaughtered and beheaded Narang for manhandling Vardha, after pleading with him not to do so, stunning all the witnesses. Vardha, Deva and all of their associates including Vardha's younger brother Baachi, aides Bilal and Rinda, and advisor Gaikwad alias Baba were all apprehended.

On the day of the voting, Raja Mannar suddenly returned to Khansaar and voted to continue the ceasefire, in favor of Vardha. However, Vardha, with his deciding vote, voted to terminate the imposition of the ceasefire. Immediately, everyone staked their claim for the throne; Vardha, after defeating drug-addicted men dispatched by Ranga with Deva's assistance, broke out of prison and assassinated Ranga. Raja Mannar disclosed to Radha Rama that Bhaarava hailed from the Shouryaanga tribe and is one of the few people that survived the massacre. Elsewhere, Bhaarava and an army of the surviving Shouryaanga tribesmen swore vengeance against Raja Mannar for the genocide of their tribe. Rudra joined hands with his maternal uncle, Om, for the throne. Bhaarava's captured associate, Dheru, revealed to Raja Mannar and Radha Rama that Deva is actually Devaratha Raisaar, the son of Dhaara Raisaar, who headed the Shouryaanga tribe and was supposed to be the next king of Khansaar. Simultaneously, Vardha addressed Deva as his Salaar, just as his loyalists came to know that he is a Shouryaanga tribesman.

Cast

• Prabhas as Devaratha "Deva" Raisaar alias "Salaar", Vardha's childhood friend and the son of Dhaara Shouryaanga Raisaar, leader of the 'Shouryaanga' tribe
  • Videsh Anand as young Devaratha “Deva” Salaar
• Prithviraj Sukumaran in a dual role as
  • Vardharaja "Vardha" Mannar, Raja Mannar's second wife's son, Deva's childhood friend, elder brother of Baachi, and one of the governers of Khansaar; Radha Rama and Rudra Raju's step-brother
    • Karthikeya Dev as young Vardha Raja Mannar
  • Siva Mannar, Raja Mannar's father and formerly the head of the 'Mannar tribe' and King of the City of Khansaar
• Shruti Haasan as Aadhya Krishnakanth, daughter of Krishnakanth
• Jagapathi Babu as Raja Mannar, the King of the City of Khansaar; Radha Rama, Rudra Raju, Vardha, and Baachi's father; Siva Mannar's son
• Bobby Simha as Bhaarava, one of the Doras in Khansaar, Raja Mannar's son-in-law, Radha Rama's husband, and a Shouryaanga tribesman
• Tinnu Anand as Gaikwad alias "Baba", Vardha's advisor and loyalist
• Easwari Rao as Deva's mother and a school head master
• Sriya Reddy as Radha Rama Mannar, Raja Mannar's first wife's daughter, Rudra's sister, and Bhaarava's wife; Vardha and Baachi's half-sister
• Devaraj as Om, one of the Doras in Khansaar and Raja Mannar's brother-in-law; Radha Rama and Rudra Raju's uncle
• Ramachandra Raju as Rudra Mannar, one of the Doras in Khansaar, Raja Mannar's first wife's son, Radha Rama's younger brother; Vardha and Baachi's step-brother
• Madhu Guruswamy as Hazare, Rudra Raju's henchman
• Ramana as Rinda, Vardha's loyalist
• Brahmaji as Vaali, one of the Doras in Khansaar and a Ghaniyaar tribesman
• Shafi as Dheru, Bhaarava's henchman and a Shouryaanga tribesman
• Naveen Shankar as Pandit, Rudra Raju's henchman
• Pramod Panju as Baachi Mannar, Raja Mannar's second wife's son and Vardha's younger brother; Radha Rama and Rudra Raju's younger step-brother
• John Vijay as Ranga, one of the Doras in Khansaar and a Ghaniyaar tribesman
• MS Chowdary as Narang, one of the Doras in Khansaar and a Ghaniyaar tribesman
• Vajrang Shetty as Vishnu, Naarang's son and a Ghaniyaar tribesman
• Ravi Bhat as Krishnakanth, a business magnate and Aadhya's father
• Saurav Lokesh as Cheeka, one of the Doras and a Ghaniyaar tribesman
• Saptagiri as Chandram, school peon
• Prudhvi Raj as a Village Sarpanch
• Jhansi as Obulamma, Radha Rama's loyalist and confidante
• Mime Gopi as Bilal, Vardha's loyalist and Deva's friend
• Sampath Ram as Vedha
• Sathvik Varma as Obulamma's son
• Farzana as Surabhi, local tribe girl living in Khansaar
• Kalpalatha Garlapati as Surabhi's mother

Production

Development

File:Baahubali movie hindi trailer launch in mumbai photos.jpg

Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire is the first collaboration of Prabhas (L) with Prashanth Neel (R).

In mid August 2020, it was reported that Prabhas had approached Prashanth Neel was reported to begin production in 2022, as both were busy with their respective commitments at the time; theVaradha'srmer was filming for Radhe Shyam (2022) and Adipurush (2023), and the latter was filming for KGF: Chapter 2 (2022). In late November, Neel was reported to begin production for his next directorial ventures either with N. T. Rama Rao Jr. or Prabhas soon. On 2 December, however, Hombale Films announced that Neel would collaborate with Prabhas for his next directorial venture, titled Salaar.

The film marks as Neel's maiden collaboration with Prabhas and maiden Tollywood film. A muhuratam pooja ceremony was held on 15 January 2021 with the presence of the film's cast and crew in Hyderabad. Ravi Basrur was roped in to compose the score, in his fourth consecutive film with Neel, while Bhuvan Gowda and Ujwal Kulkarni were approached to handle the cinematography and editing, respectively. Initialed to be a one-part movie, on 8 July 2023, the production house announced that the film would be released in two-parts, with the first part titled with the tagline – Ceasefire.

Casting

File:Prithviraj oil paint 2019.jpg

Shruti Haasan (L) was cast to play the lead actress role, pairing opposite Prabhas for the first time. Prithviraj Sukumaran (R) would make his return to Telugu cinema after Police Police (2010)

On casting Prabhas, Neel stated "I was drawn to his innocence. Prabhas exudes more innocence compared to most other actors. To draw out this innocence and show it on screen will be fantastic.", while Prabhas stated that his character is "extremely violent", something that he "haven’t really done before". The latter was reported to get more fit and muscular for his role. He was further reported to play a dual role, which was later denied.

On the occasion of Shruti Haasan's birthday (28 January 2021), the production house announced her commitments. She played the role of Aadhya and received a remuneration consisting ₹8 crore. Prabhas, during a press meet for Radhe Shyam in Kochi, revealed that Prithviraj Sukumaran would play a role in the film, and stated "We are so lucky [to have him] in the film." Marking the film as Prithviraj's return to Telugu cinema after Police Police (2010).

Madhu Guruswamy, Jagapathi Babu, Easwari Rao, Sriya Reddy, Tinnu Anand, Bobby Simha, Ramachandra Raju, Prudhvi Raj, Jhansi, Saptagiri were cast to play prominent roles. Mime Gopi and John Vijay's presence in the promotional trailer revealed their inclusion.

Filming

A part of Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire was filmed in Matera.

Principal photography commenced with the first schedule on 27 January 2021 in Godavarikhani, a town near Telangana. A set was reportedly erected there. Shruti joined the sets two days later. A action sequence featuring Prabhas and fighters was reportedly filmed. During this schedule, leaked picture of Prabhas was uploaded to social media's and went viral, leaking Prabhas' look in the film. Due to this, tight security was arranged. On 8 February, cinematographer Bhuvan Gowda, via Instagram, announced that the schedule had concluded. The second schedule commenced on 3 August 2021 in Hyderabad, and reportedly began filming a scene featuring Prabhas and Shruti. The makers reportedly wanted the film to look "next level at any given", therefore it was reportedly shot on a "Dark Centric Theme" technology. Thus marking the film as the first Indian film to do so. By 12 August, the schedule concluded. Shruti, via Instagram Story, revealed that Prabhas treated the cast and crew with food treats as a celebration for the conclusion.

Shortly after the release of Prabhas' film Radhe Shyam in March 2022, filming was halted, mainly due to him getting an knee surgery done in Spain and later joining the sets of Kalki 2898 AD. By mid May, 30–percent of filming was reportedly completed. The third schedule was reported to begin on 24 May, but commenced instead on 18 May. The studio shared a behind-the-scenes video that day, which showcased the crew setting up a set for a action sequence. The fourth schedule commenced on 28 June in Hyderabad. The schedule reportedly had a huge set erected for a action sequence, which featured Prabhas, Shruti and various fighters, choreographed by the stunt choreography duo Anbariv. It was reported that the schedule would be a lengthy one. In December, producer Vijay Kiragandur, in an interview, revealed that 85–percent of filming was finished.

The filming was reported to be in the "final leg" in early February 2023, and was reported to conclude by late February. In this schedule, the team also shot a 20-minute long action sequence in the middle of the sea, spending about ₹10 crore on the scene. Shruti joined the sets on 10 February, after being busy for the post-production and release works for Veera Simha Reddy (2023) and Waltair Veerayya (2023). She completed filming her portions by 23 February, and, via X (formerly Twitter), thanked everyone from the cast and crew for their support. In mid March, production moved to Matera. It was reported that after Matera, filming would be continued in Naples, and later in Rome and Budapest. The intially scheduled release date of 28 September 2023 was postponed, due to unexpected reshoots in mid-September. It was reported that after watching the final edit, Neel felt that there were more room for improvement. In late October, a action sequence was filmed. The sequence was called "big war sequence" and featured over 750 vehicles, including jeeps, tanks, trunks etc. Principal photography wrapped by 1 December 2023, with filming lasting for 114 working days.

Post-production

During an interview in December 2022, Vijay Kiragandur stated that VFX works would take around six months. Post-production works were moved to a village in Karnataka, where composer Basrur's studio is located. Reportedly due to prevent leaks during the process of composing, editing etc. Shruti began dubbing her portions in mid August and dubbed for the Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi languages. She completed dubbing for three languages by 29 August, and completed within early-September. Due to approximately 600 pending VFX shots in mid-September, in addition to reshoots happening, the release date of 28 September 2023 was postponed. Prithviraj also dubbed for his portions in all the languages and completed by 10 December.

Music

Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire
Soundtrack album by Ravi Basrur
Released	2023
Recorded	2020-2023
Genre	Feature Film Soundtrack
Length	10:03
Language	Telugu
Label	Divo
Producer	Ravi Basrur
Ravi Basrur chronology
Kshetrapati (2023) Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire (2023)

The music and background score is composed by Ravi Basrur, in his fourth collaboration with Neel after Ugramm, KGF: Chapter 1 (2018) and KGF: Chapter 2; maiden with Prabhas. The audio rights were acquired by Divo. The first single titled "Sooreede" was released on 13 December 2023, and the second single titled "Prathikadalo" on 21 December 2023.

All lyrics are written by Krishna Kanth

Track list

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Sooreede"	Harini Ivaturi	3:18
2.	"Prathikadalo"	Chorus	3:30
3.	"Vinaraa"	Sachin Basrur	3:15
Total length:			10:03

Marketing

The teaser of the film was released on 6 July 2023. The teaser had more than 83 million views in 24 hours, breaking the records of all Indian films. The 1st trailer of the film was released on 1 December 2023. The 2nd trailer was released on 18 December 2023.

Release

Theatrical

Salaar Part 1 – Ceasefire was theatrically released on 22 December 2023 in standard and IMAX formats. It was released in Telugu along with dubbed versions of Kannada, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam. The film received an A (adults only) certification from the Central Board of Film Certification on the account of intense action sequences and violence. The makers expected a U/A (parental guidance) classification, but were unwilling to make cuts, and since the board had updated their rules, the makers accepted the adult classification.

Earlier in August 2021, it was announced that the film was going to release on 14 April 2022. The film was later postponed due to Neel and Hombale's film, K.G.F: Chapter 2 which was scheduled to release on that date. In March 2022, producer Vijay Kiragandur in an interview with Pinkvilla stated that the film was postponed to the second quarter (April–June) of 2023 due to production delays owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2022, the release date was announced as 28 September 2023 but postponed to 22 December 2023.

Distribution

It will be released from the production house Hombale Films in Karnataka. It will be distributed in North America by Moksha Movies and Prathyangira Cinemas jointly. Prithviraj Productions will distribute the film in Kerala. The Tamil Nadu distribution rights were acquired by Red Giant Movies. AA Films will distribute the film in North India. The film will be distributed across Andhra Pradesh by Sree Siri Sai Cinemas, Lakshmi Narasimha Sri Manikantha Films, Geeta Films Distributor, KSN Tele Films, Sri Vengamamba Cinemas and Shilpakala Entertainments while Mythri Movie Makers will distribute the film in Nizam region.

Home media

Disney Star acquired the satellite rights of Telugu and other dubbed versions. The digital streaming rights were acquired by Netflix for all five languages.

Reception

Critical response

Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics praising Neel's direction, performances, action sequences, cinematography and technical aspects of the film. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 6 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.1/10.

Paul Nicodemus of The Times of India gave the film 3.5/5 and wrote "It is a riveting watch for those with a taste for grand and epic narratives. Fans of Prabhas and Prithviraj Sukumaran will find much to admire in this intense and captivating film. It's a film that will entertain and impress with its scale, but might require some patience in the initial stages." Janany K of India Today gave the film 3.5/5 and wrote "'Salaar: Part 1 - Ceasefire' is a mass masala action entertainer that celebrates Prabhas's stardom. Now, get ready for 'Salaar: Part 2 - Shouryaanga Parvam'. S Devasankar of Pinkvilla gave the film 3/5 and wrote "Prashanth Neel’s Telugu debut is nothing short of a masterpiece, a visual spectacle. The film engages fans with brilliantly choreographed action sequences without losing track of the underlying story and drama. Prithviraj Sukumaran was right when he said that Salaar at its core is a drama. The drama definitely works out, and the filmmaker has hit it out of the park, with the help of his star-studded cast."

Bollywood Hungama gave the film 3/5 and wrote "On the whole, Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire boasts of whistle-worthy moments that will be loved by the masses. However, the excessive violence, a needlessly complicated second half and a limited showcasing due to Dunki will affect its box office prospects to an extent." Mayur Sanap of Rediff gave the film 3/5 and wrote "[Prashanth] Neel ups the ante on all of the formulaic elements from KGF by instilling them with more ambition and technical dazzle that sustain his bonkers vision." Sangeetha Deva Dundoo of The Hindu wrote "Salaar is tailored to cater to lovers of mass action entertainers. There is a lot of indulgent ‘build up’ with nearly every character — the mother, Obulamma, Rama, the businessman who fears for his daughter Aadya, the children, and several aides — talks in exalted terms about Deva at regular intervals. At one point, I wanted the film to cut the chase and tell us what makes him a fiery warlord."

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film 2.5/5 and wrote "Solid star turns from Prabhas and Prithviraj Sukumaran are the main draws of Salaar: Part 1 - Ceasefire. The rest of the film's appeal lies in the lure of unbridled excess." Sonil Dedhia of News18 gave the film 2.5/5 and wrote "Overall, Salaar is only for Prabhas fans and for those who feel an assault on the senses is a form of cinema. But if you love your eardrums and have had your fill of the super-heroic exploits of an underdog-turned-top dog hero, you can give this film a probable miss." Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film 2/5 and wrote "Salaar Part 2 promises more, more, more. Are we ready for it? Most of part one is eye-glazing enough, making you numb to the murder and mayhem: all noise, meaning very little."

Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times wrote "Prabhas makes a stellar comeback, film snatches Animal's 'most violent movie of the year' crown."

Box office

Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire earned ₹95 crores domestically on the first day. On its Opening day, it collected ₹178.7 crore (US$21 million) worldwide and become highest collected Indian film of 2023.

Sequel

The sequel of the film titled Salaar: Part 2 – Shouryaanga Parvam is in development. It is reported that production for the film will begin after Neel completes his film with N. T. Rama Rao Jr., which reportedly set to begin filming from March 2024.

External links

• Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire at IMDb