Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire
Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language epic action thriller film directed by Prashanth Neel and produced by Vijay Kiragandur under Hombale Films. The film stars Prabhas in the titular role, alongside Prithviraj Sukumaran, Shruti Haasan, Jagapathi Babu, Bobby Simha, Sriya Reddy, Ramachandra Raju, John Vijay, Easwari Rao, Tinnu Anand, Devaraj, Brahmaji and Mime Gopi. In the fictional dystopian city-state of Khansaar, where monarchy still exists, the film follows the friendship between Deva, the exiled prince of Khansaar, and Varadha, the current 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 storyline 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, its first installment was titled as Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire. Principal photography commenced in January 2021, and occurred sporadically in several legs over nearly three years, before wrapping in late 2023. Filming locations included Telangana, Italy and Budapest. Production difficulties, ranging from the pandemic, reshoots and VFX delays, postponed Salaars release date several times. The music is composed by Ravi Basrur, cinematography handled by Bhuvan Gowda and editing by Ujwal Kulkarni.
Part 1 – Ceasefire was theatrically released on 22 December 2023, coinciding with Christmas. The film received positive reviews from critics. It was a commercial success, earning on a 270 crore budget making it the highest-grossing Telugu film of 2023, third highest-grossing Telugu film of all time, and the nineteenth highest-grossing Indian film of all time at the end of its theatrical run. A sequel is in development.
Plot
In 1985, Deva and Vardha Raja "Vardha" Mannar are inseparable companions in Khansaar, a puissant city-state, ruled by a monarchial form of government led by Vardha's father Raja Mannar. When Raja Mannar orders the annihilation of the Shouryaanga tribe, a violent mob pounces on Deva and his mother at their residence. Vardha intervenes and confers an important territory in his possession to the mob's leader in exchange for sparing their lives; he then ensures that the duo discreetly leave Khansaar for good but Deva vows to return whenever Vardha calls for him.In 2017, NRI Krishnakanth realises that his daughter Aadhya, unbeknownst to him, has gone to Varanasi to immerse her mother's ashes from their home in New York City. Her arrival alerts Obulamma, a loyal servant to Vardha's apparently-insane step-sister Radha Rama; she crouched on the floor, trembling, muttering to herself about taking revenge. She hadn’t eaten anything until then, so Obulamma forcefully fed her. In front of Obulamma, she ate like a helpless little child, her head bowed in shyness and fear. Her timid nature made her face flush and break into a nervous sweat at that very moment. Obulamma looked at her with an expression that seemed to say, "Oh poor!". Then Obulamma instructs their henchmen to abduct her and Krishnakanth enlists the assistance of Bilal, who secures Aadhya at his friend Deva's outhouse in Tinsukia, Assam, where she pretends to have come for employment at a school run by Deva's austere mother. However, she is eventually discovered and about to be abducted but Deva's mother, who has always restrained him from resorting to violence, reluctantly instructs him to rescue her, prompting him to subdue the goons. Disappointed with the turn of events, Deva's mother decides to abscond with him, but upon witnessing Aadhya and Bilal being carried off in a convoy, she again signals Deva to rescue her. Deva intercepts the convoy, which bears the emblem of Khansaar and attracts the attention of Vardha, Obulamma and Radha Rama. The latter reveals to have staged the events to pit Deva against Vardha as opposing the emblem of Khansaar means death, a rule Deva himself is told to have established seven years ago; she also asserts that only one of Vardha and Deva will survive the forthcoming confrontation. Meanwhile, Bilal recounts the story of Khansaar, Deva and Vardha to Aadhya.
In 1127, barbarous dacoits from Mannar, Shouryaanga and Ghaniyaar tribes seized control over an area, which they called Khansaar. Warriors from the three tribes have always protected Khansaar from annexation, even during the British Raj. In 1947, after the Indian independence movement, Raja Mannar's father Siva Mannar declared Khansaar's autonomy, erasing its existence from the map; to avoid internal conflicts, he split Khansaar into 101 provinces, commissioning Kapus to govern the provinces and 8 Doras to superintend 10-12 Kapus each; he declared himself as Karta, the king. He also authored Nibandhana, a constitution for Khansaar, bringing it into effect soon after. In 1985, after Siva Mannar's demise, Raja Mannar assassinated Dhaara Raisaar, a Shouryaanga tribesman destined to be the next Karta, and exterminated the entire tribe to avoid retaliation. He designated his own allies from Mannar and Ghaniyaar tribes as Doras and Kapus, thereby imposing his authority over Khansaar.
In 2010, Bhaarava, Radha Rama's husband, insists Raja Mannar reconcile with Vardha and his brother Baachi, whom he has expelled for giving away his territory in 1985. Raja Mannar orders Ranga, a deranged Dora, to give up his seat for Vardha, enraging him; he then leaves Khansaar on some duty, appointing Radha Rama as the Regent. To avoid tussles for the throne in her father's absence, Radha Rama proposes initiating a ceasefire but faces heavy opposition from the Doras, who claim their right to vote for the ceasefire according to the Nibandhana. An election is scheduled after nine days and all the Doras including Raja Mannar's eldest son Rudra Mannar bring in mercenaries from various countries to challenge their claim as soon as the voting ends. Much to the chagrin of his allies, Vardha only calls for Deva, who is currently residing with his mother in Bharuch, Gujarat. Deva arrives at Khansaar and tolerates Vardha's humiliation for most of the time on his insistence. However, when Vishnu, son of a Ghaniyaar Dora Naarang, who persistently chooses girls from a scheduled tribe to rape, tries to molest a girl, Deva fights and kills him. As a result, Deva, Vardha and all their allies are incarcerated; Rudra instigates Naarang against Vardha and asks him to kill him during the trial for Vishnu's death. Deva consistently pleads with Naarang to spare Vardha but beheads him when he refuses to back off.
On the day of voting, Raja Mannar returns and votes in favour of ceasefire but Vardha casts his deciding vote in favour of its termination. Vardha and Deva escape execution and murder Ranga and his cruel drug-addicted henchmen. Elsewhere, Raja Mannar reveals to Radha Rama that the Shouryaanga tribe lives on, having escaped the genocide, and that Bhaarava is a Shouryaanga tribesman, who has been conspiring against them all along. They capture Bhaarava's right-hand man Thiru, who reveals to them that Deva is the son of Dhaara and the actual heir to the throne of Khansaar and that Vardha sacrificed his territory to rescue Dhaara's family. Elsewhere, Ghaniyaar tribesmen Vaali, Gurung and Cheeka join hands against the Mannars while Rudra joins hands with his maternal uncle Om. Just as Vardha's allies discover that Deva is a Shouryaanga, Vardha declares him as his Salaar.
Cast
Production
Development
In November 2020, Neel was reported to begin production for his next directorial ventures with either N. T. Rama Rao Jr. or Prabhas soon. On 2 December, Hombale Films announced that Neel would collaborate with Prabhas next, on a Telugu-language film titled Salaar.A muhurtam 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 Salaar would be released in two parts, with the first subtitled Ceasefire.
Casting
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 28 January 2021, Prabhas wished Shruti Haasan a happy birthday, and welcomed her to the Salaar team. She played the role of Aadhya and received a remuneration consisting. Prabhas, during a press meet for Radhe Shyam in Kochi, revealed that Prithviraj Sukumaran would play other lead role alongside Prabhas in the film thus, marking Prithviraj's return to Telugu cinema after Police Police.
Madhu Guruswamy, Jagapathi Babu, Easwari Rao, Sriya Reddy, Tinnu Anand, Bobby Simha, Ramachandra Raju, Saptagiri were cast to play prominent roles. Mime Gopi and John Vijay's presence in the promotional trailer revealed their inclusion.
Filming
commenced on 27 January 2021 at a set in Godavarikhani, a town in Telangana. Haasan joined the production two days later. An action sequence featuring Prabhas was reportedly filmed. A day later, an on-set picture of Prabhas was leaked to social media and went viral, prompting tight security to be arranged during filming. On 8 February, cinematographer Bhuvan Gowda announced that the first leg had concluded.The second leg commenced on 3 August 2021 in Hyderabad, with the filming of a scene featuring Prabhas and Shruti. Since the filmmakers wanted Salaar to look "next level at any given angle", it became the first Indian film shot via Dark Centric Theme technology. By 12 August, the second leg concluded.
Shortly after the release of Prabhas' film Radhe Shyam in March 2022, filming was halted, mainly due to him getting a knee surgery done in Spain and later joining the sets of Kalki 2898 AD. By May 2022, 30 percent of filming was reportedly completed. The third leg 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 an action sequence. The fourth leg commenced on 28 June in Hyderabad. The schedule reportedly had a huge set erected for an action sequence, which featured Prabhas, Shruti and various fighters, stunt-choreographed by the duo Anbariv. It was reported that the schedule would be a lengthy one. In December, producer Vijay Kiragandur revealed that 85 percent of filming was finished.
Filming was reported to be in the final leg in early February 2023, and set to conclude by the month end. In this leg, the crew shot a 20-minute-long action sequence in the middle of the sea, at a cost of around. Haasan joined the sets on 10 February, after being busy for the post-production and release works for Veera Simha Reddy and Waltair Veerayya. She completed filming her portions by 23 February. In mid March, production moved to Matera, Italy; filming would then continue in Naples, then Rome and Budapest. The initial release date of 28 September 2023 was postponed due to reshoots in mid-September. It was reported that after watching the final edit, Neel felt that there was room for improvement. In late October, a "big war sequence" was filmed, featuring over 750 vehicles, including jeeps, tanks and trunks. Principal photography wrapped after a total of 114 working days over nearly three years.