Superstar Rajinikanth’s most recent project, “Lal Salaam,” which was directed by his daughter Aishwarya Rajinikanth, is still doing well at the box office after earning Rs 9.98 crore in revenue in just three days of its premiere. Industry tracker Sacnilk reports that on Day 3, February 11, the movie took in Rs 3.18 crore, marginally less than it took on its opening day. As a result, the weekend’s total revenue is now Rs 6.43 crore, of which Rs 3.25 crore was collected on Saturday.

Lal Salaam movie synopsis: Lal Salaam explores the politicization of popular sport in a village context by weaving a tale centred on religion and cricket. The film depicts the long-standing rivalry between Thiru (Vishnu Vishal) and Moideen bhai (Rajinikanth), starting when they are young and continuing to the village cricket field. Vikranth, Rajinikanth, and Vishnu Vishal play essential roles in the film.

Review of Lal Salaam: Throughout the first part of her feature debut, Aishwarya Rajinikanth demonstrates her ability to create tender moments on screen delicately and effectively. Lal Salaam is another example of how she proves this. But, Aishwaryaa restricts these intimate moments for a plot that tackles a more significant issue, just as she did with 3. It’s a beautiful scene where Rajinikanth (Moideen Bhai) pretends to be a bowler playing cricket with his batter son (Vikranth).

Unfortunately, Aishwaryaa mainly decides to leave these scenes out of the movie to concentrate more on the central conflict. Even when she focuses on these moments, the scenes keep going, particularly when a family converses over dinner. Watching these scenes makes us, the audience, happy, but it gets a little annoying when they keep happening.

The greatest threat to Lal Salaam is its runtime. These moments are short, as the lengthy, uncut scenes don’t have any relevance to the plot later on. Consequently, it creates the impression that the narrative could be more active.

Lal Salaam focuses mainly on the gap between Muslims and Hindus and religious unrest. We must commend the film for its politics. However, the way the conflict was settled could have used more subtlety. More than just a convenient piece of writing it could have been.

A significant factor in preventing the movie from feeling jarring is the dignified cinematography of Vishnu Rangasamy. Instead of serving as a plot device, AR Rahman’s songs work well as standalone tracks.

It is unavoidable to say that the movie would have been more compelling with Rajinikanth. His captivating presence undoubtedly elevates al-Salaam. However, the ensemble—led by a superb Vishnu—is excellent, so he doesn’t have to carry the weight of promoting the movie alone.