Salaar - Prashanth Neel on creating cinematic universe, says ‘not capable of creating connections like Lokesh Kanagaraj’

Salaar: Part 1 - Ceasefire’s director Prashanth Neel has been winning praise for the upcoming film even before its release! The film, which is slated for a grand release on December 22, is one of the most anticipated films of 2023. With the film nearing its release date, Salaar team –Prabhas, Prashanth Neel and Prithviraj Sukumaran - recently sat down for a detailed conversation with acclaimed director SS Rajamouli.  

In one of the juicy details which was spilled during the interview, the RRR director had asked Prashanth about creating a potential cinematic universe trend, which has been set by Lokesh Kanagaraj in India. In response to Rajamouli's question, Prashanth Neel replied that although he appreciates Lokesh Kanagaraj’s way of creating a cinematic franchise, he claimed that he isn't capable of doing such a work like the Leo director. 

“I had this discussion a long time ago. However, personally, I don't want to pursue that. I believe it's not right for me to cash in on the bandwagon of making these connections and bringing back the audience to the theatre for that reason." 

The Salaar director continued, "I appreciate watching universe-based films when they are executed well, like the Avengers series because it was done right. Also, I admire what Lokesh (Kanagaraj) is doing in the Tamil cinema industry; it, too, has been executed well. However, I'm not capable of doing something like that because there are different timelines. KGF happens in the 80s, and Salaar happens in the present era. That being said, I love watching films based on connections because it gives us a sense of euphoria while watching two characters coming together from different worlds." 

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Salaar’s plot and cast

Salaar: Part 1 - Ceasefire revolves around two friends, who would go to any extent for each other but they end up becoming arch enemies due to certain reasons. The film has Prabhas in the lead as Deva, while Prithviraj Sukumaran plays the role of Varadharaja Mannar. Salaar is a pan-Indian film which is made in Telugu and dubbed in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi. The film also stars Shruti Haasan, Pramod, Tinu Anand, Jagapathi Babu, Eashwari Rao, Shreya Reddy, Garuda Ram, and Naveen Shankar, among others. 

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