Salaam Venky Review: Revathy Makes A Perfect Comeback With This High On Emotion Film Starring Kajol, Vishal Jethwa

'Salaam Venky' is not a film for everyone but those who do watch it will find a reason to like it. It's high on emotion, drama, and thanks to its actors' performances that it flows very well.

New Delhi: 'Salaam Venky' is an adaptation of Srikanth Murthy's book 'The Last Hurrrah'. This is the second adaptation of the story after the Hindi film 'Main Phir Aaunga' starring Shreyas Talpade and Moushumi Chatterjee. 'Salaam Venky' is a bitter-sweet tale of a mother and her son's fight for the right to euthanasia after he has lived 24 years of a life riddled with physical limitations but with the highest degree of satisfaction possible. Starring Kajol as the mother( Sujata) and Vishal Jethwa ( Venky) as the son, 'Salaam Venky' is an ode to the ephemerality of life and the desire to live long after we are dead. Directed by Revathy, 'Salaam Venky' is the veteran actor-director's third full-feature length film made after a gap of 18 years.

Note: As the reviewer has not seen 'Main Phir Aaunga', she will not be drawing comparisons or referring to the film at all.

'Salaam Venky' is a simple film. It is high on emotion and drama. The film follows a simple three-act structure. 

It opens with the most literal opening credits song 'Badi Zindagi' sequence which suggests the core of the film. 

'Salaam Venky' soon moves on to establish the narrative of the film without really trying to establish the characters of the film; a feature so unique in movie making these days that it deserves a special mention.

We are spontaneously introduced to Venky as a youngster battling a degenerative genetic disease which gets worse as he grows older and Sujata as his warrior mother who's fighting against all odds to keep him alive. Nowhere to do we seem to be following the daily routines of the lead cast or establishing how strong they are by following it.

Revathy does this by following the superobjective of the 'Salaam Venky', i.e. to tell the story of Venky's fight rather than what he eats, wears, or what his mother has gone through etc. to over-sentimentalize the text.

Soon after, other characters from the film are organically interwoven in the text with the help of songs. In fact, the best part of the pre-interval film is the songs and not the background score. Since the pace feels quite dense and slow with too much time spent on each closeup, music helps lighten the otherwise simple monotony of the hospital room where 50% of the film is shot.

The 'Anda Bata Paratha' track and 'Jo Tum Saath Ho' song are beautiful renditions well put into the narrative. They also reveal the love story between Venky and Nandini ( who happens to be differently abled), two school friends who later become constant support for each other.

There is also an ample use of closeups in the film complimented by master shots and mid shots to amplify emotion. This is also done with the help of the background score which felt overly dramatic in many places. For instance; when Aashram's Guruji walks in the hospital, we hear tanpura in the backdrop.

The first half of 'Salaam Venky' takes a long time to land and find its feet. Its strength is naturally the performances by Vishal Jethwa and Kajol, who are perfectly adapted to the roles they play.

There is Aamir Khan's cameo in the film as someone from another side,  a friend/guide who only Kajol's character can see. His role is a welcome addition to 'Salaam Venky' and adds a layer of mystery and brings out existential queries that someone in a similar plight might have; like Kajol has as a mother of a boy who is demanding the right to die.

The post-interval 'Salaam Venky' is high on drama. The songs disappear post-interval and pace picks up with rapid to and fro movements between shots and sequences.

Rahul Bose, Aahana Kumra make an entry as a lawyer and journalist respectively. They help Venky and Sujata fight their case in the court where Prakash Raj plays the role of a judge in a High Court.

All supporting cast members including Rajeev Khandelwal ( as Venky's doctor) ace their parts and give a sense of colour to a monotone palette which in the pre-interval film featured only a few people with Venky and Sujata as the highlight.

Another highlight in the second half is the framing of shots. In the first half, there is a sense of liveliness; there is a use of mixed visual composition.

However, in the second half, there is a lot of symmetry ( which is also present in the first half) that feels overwhelming. Shots of symmetrical hallways, windows, rooms, courtrooms, ashram etc. are amply used in the second half. Perhaps, this helps achieve a sense of tightness, certainty, claustrophobia and eventuality of death which is slightly far-fetched in the first half. (This could perhaps be overread in the first watching experience of the film)

Meanwhile, the design of 'Salaam Venky' suits the genre. Revathy and her crew are spot on in actors' looks but the locations like the hospital building or the courtroom have a sense of artificiality attached to them. They don't look the way they feel.

Over all, 'Salaam Venky' is not a film for everyone but those who do watch it will find a reason to like it. It's high on emotion, drama and thanks to its actors' performances and the screenplay, that it flows very well. The reviewer is going with 3.5 stars for Revathy's directorial 'Salaam Venky'.