Salaam Venky stars Kajol as Sujata, Vishal Jethwa as Venkatesh aka Venky, along with Rajeev Khandelwal, Rahul Bose, Prakash Raj, Aahana Kumar, Priyamani, Kamal Savannah, Priyamani, Maala Parvathi, Ridhi Kumar among others. Superstar Aamir Khan has a special appearance. Directed by Revathi, the film is based on Kolavennu Venkatesh’s story from the book The Last Hurrah by Shrikant Murthy. The screenplay is penned by Sameer Arora and Kausar Munir.
The music is by Mithoon, and the lyrics are penned by him along with Kausar. Ravi Varman has worked as the cinematographer, and the editing is done by Manan Sagar. The runtime is of 135 minutes approximately.
Salaam Venky Movie Review: Plot Summary
Salaam Venky is a story of a 24-year-old Venky diagnosed with incurable Duchenne muscular dystrophy. His mother, Sujata, has to fight the battle of looking after her ailing son all by herself. The story focuses on Venky’s desire to donate organs to others and his plead for Euthanasia.
The movie starts with a scared Sujata taking her son Venky to the hospital. The first half is set in the hospital room, where we get to know Venky. He’s a filmy young man who tries to cut the tension with his movie dialogue. From ‘zindagi lambi nahi, badi hone chahiye’ to ‘kal ho naa ho’, Venky uses these dialogues as an acceptance of his fate and to generate laughter in the room. On the other hand, Sujata is most stressed and in tears to see her young child suffer so much.
Salaam Venky Review: Discussion
Director Revathi didn’t overdramatise Venky and Sujata’s story. However, her execution is so plain that it doesn’t even create an impact. She tries to induce empathy for the characters through their painful backstories. Unfortunately, it becomes a distraction because the present premise already fails to capture our attention.
In the second half, the movie picks the momentum when Sujata decides to fight for her son’s demand for Euthanasia. However, the conversations and execution are preachy. It seems like the lawyers and doctors are talking to the audience and not to each other. I wish the entire issue were portrayed in a raw and impactful manner.
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Criticising a movie based on a true story, the grief and misery of real people is difficult. But, Salaam Venky fails to involve us in the life of these characters who are going through so much. The over-the-top dialogues, loud background music, and songs tremendously affect the plain storytelling.
I really hoped to be in tears during the climax because of everything that happened. However, it wasn’t until they showed the pictures of the real Venky, I felt a lump in my throat. It’s sad that I wasn’t moved even for a bit after watching the entire movie. But the moment I saw the pics of the real Venkatesh, I felt the loss.
Coming to performances, Vishal Jethwa as Venky has some moments where he shines the best. In the first half, there’s a scene where Venky breaks down and calls for his Amma (Sujata). The scream for help hit me hard and gave me chills. In the second half, when he communicates mostly through eyes and sign language proves his impeccable talent as an actor. Sadly, the poorly written-dialogue made it hard to take him seriously.
Kajol was the weakest performer in the film. As Sujata, the actor had an opportunity to pierce through our hearts and make us feel the ache she is going through. But one could sense her discomfort while speaking the dialogues that didn’t match her emotions and actions. In scenes where she has to get angry and overly emotional, the actor ends up screeching. With hardly less than 10 minutes of screen presence, Aamir Khan brings calmness and sentimental value to the story deprived of poignance.
Salaam Venky Review: Final Thoughts
Overall, by not overdoing the melodrama and making the story overdramatic, it is obvious that Revathi’s intentions were honest while telling us Venkatesh’s story. However, the inefficient screenplay, dialogues and weak performances fail to build an emotional connection.
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