Movie Review : Saala
Guna ( Aruldoss) adopts a young lad, Saala who saves his life in a fight with Sathya, to procure a bar called Parvathy Bar. When he grows up Saala's ( Dheeran) only aim is to get back that bar for his mentor.
In the present time, the bar is also coveed by their business rival and don, Thangadurai (Charles Vinoth).
In the meantime, in the course of his activities promoting his boss' s bar chain, Saala meets a teacher and activist Punitha (Reshma Venkatesh) who is dead against liquor sales and bars, and Dheeran is slowly drawn towards her sincerity and the orphan kids she supports.
Things get serious when Thangadurai starts selling illicit liquor with dangerous chemicals in it for more money. He also enters into the election fray and bids for the auction and reopening of the Parvathy bar, which brings him into direct confrontation with Guna and Saala.
What happens next ? Who gets the bar? What happens to Saala and his dreams to build a home for himself with Punitha?
The film seems like a sincere effort to open the public's mind to the evils of the fast growing liquor drinking habit. Kudos to the debut director SD Manipaul for choosing such a subject in his debut film, displaying a sense of social responsibility, with statistics to back his claims added to dialogues of key characters like Punitha and others. He also shows the tragic effects on families and the suffering it causes, which leaves an impression.
Reshma Venkatesh, shines in this, her debut film, in a well written role where she brings out superbly the fervour, sincerity, determination and courage of her character. Dheeran with his physique and body language is well cast and apt for his role, which he plays impressively, especially shining in the action blocks, even pulling off a song and dance sequence.
Every character, right from the various baddies to Shrinath with his witty one-liners, to the kids, has been well chosen and each of them deliver solid performances, which helps the film.
Though the issues are serious, ample humor is wired into dialogues and situations. The twists also keep you guessing.
However, some portions seem a tad contrived and the screenplay meanders at several places, leaving you wondering how so many issues will be resolved in the screen time. Some moments seem rushed and the focus of the story keeps shifting. This does not let you quite connect with the characters. Crisper editing would have perhaps helped. There are also few scenes of violence that could have been toned down and less graphic
But overall, the film, with its well intentioned social message and manner of introducing it in an engaging manner to the viewer, deserves kudos, and viewing as well.
Rating 3/5
*CAST*
DHEERAN as SAALA
RESHMA VENKATESH as PUNITHA
CHARLES VINOTH as THANGADURAI
SRINATH as DOSS
ARULDOSS as GUNA
SAMPATH RAM as NAGU INSPECTOR
*CREW*
PRODUCTION - PEOPLE MEDIA FACTORY
PRODUCER - T G VISHWA PRASAD
CO PRODUCED BY - VIVEK KUCHIBOTLA
CREATIVE PRODUCER - V. SHREE NATRAJ
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - VIJAYA RAJESH
DIRECTOR - SD MANIPAUL
CINEMOTOGRAPHY - RAVINDRANATH GURU
MUSIC DIRECTOR - THEESON
EDITOR - BUVAN
ART DIRECTOR - VAIRABALAN
STUNT - MAGESH MATHEW & RUGGERRAM
PRO - NIKIL MURUKAN
