Review: 'Salaam Venky' is a well intentioned tearjerker with a towering performance by Vishal Jethwa

Salaam Venky

Well-intentioned tearjerkers may not necessarily translate even though as noble as the attempt is. Does that happen with Salaam Venky?

A story about a boy whose death is inevitable but is fighting the fight along with a rock as a mother - the recipe cannot get better to be making you feel right inside your gut as tears flow out. Veteran actor Revathi directs her second full length Hindi feature film with Kajol and Vishal Jethwa in lead roles and a truckload of special appearances. Having had the chance to see the film beforehand, here is what I thought about it-

Beating Heart With a Dose of Humor

'Babumoshai, zindagi badi nahi, lambi honi chahiye' - as iconic as this line became from the cult film, Anand - it is not only referenced here but becomes the tagline of the film as well. As Vishal Jethwa's Venkatesh aka Venky struggles with the rarest of diseases in the form of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) where his end is near, his motto in life has become clearer than ever. To be living life with as much happiness and love as he can. His muscles might be weakening but his heart continues to beat with humor and love. It is also fitting that Venky uses humor, (really dark humor as well) as a coping mechanism - to be able to fight and survive not only the disease but the constant physical and mental pain he endures. When it comes to the execution of that, director Revathi gets that spot on. 

The one-liners given to Venky, along with his brilliant camaraderie with his doctor, Dr. Shekhar (Rajeev Khandelwal, who is absolutely fantastic here) is one of the most endearing segments whenever they pop up. Considering how Venky has been struggling with the disease and hospital is pretty much his home, everyone in the hospital has a bond with him. His nurse becomes his student of chess and the small moment of even the pharmacy guy giving a 50% discount to Kajol's Sujata because he considers Venky as his own was an endearing scene. When it comes to conveying Venky's struggle as he awaits his end, that is done really well.

Haphazard Sequences & Hammy Acting

Salaam Venky could have worked wonders if it chose to focus on knitting a tighter screenplay instead of just ticking the boxes. The idea of Venky and mother Sujata having a troublesome past, struggling everyday in the present and then the fight to have his own right to die (euthanasia) are all predictable and hence, underwhelming in its impact. I do fathom that this is based on a real-life story which is confirmed in the end with images and some other facts also meaning that these things actually happened with the original Venkatesh. But the treatment of the same in movie-making is done in what seems to be a rather unplanned manner and just plain vanilla. To be able to immerse these scenes in a film required a deeper, more balanced sense of the situations while playing on the novelty factor. Such films are all about making you feel for everything it is trying to convey but it remains half-baked and at times, overly dramatic as well.

Kajol

Kajol is indeed a legend but one of the drawbacks in her acting career has been subtlety. While, she indeed puts in an earnest performance overall, there are scenes where she is just hamming away. Any confrontation scene which needs her to raise her voice leads the actor to ham and thus you get out of that emotion almost instantly. There is this one scene where she shouts as Aamir Khan's character and her voice pretty much squeaks as she does that. The emotion and intention would have hit a lot harder if Kajol's Sujata made you feel the emotion right from having a bad husband, raising Venky on his own and now fighting for her son's right to die. Even reading these things together evoke every emotion for the real-life Sujata but unfortunately, Kajol's portrayal of her is a job half done.

Truckload of Cameos

One of the most refreshing things about Salaam Venky is how some of the finest talents decided to give Revathi their support and approval by playing small yet impactful roles. It is somehow ironical that many of them have better arcs and have performed better than the principal cast. Rahul Bose as the fighting lawyer does his part really well as one could expect but it really is Aahana Kumra that shines with her role as the reporter. Watch out for this one scene where she is an obviously ecstatic and enthusiastic reporter as she is all set to meet the 'big story' man Venky but the moment she enters the room and starts interacting, her mood and emotions shift to the absolute opposite realising that this isn't about the 'news' but about this brave boy. Kumra does a stellar job throughout. Apart from that, Priyamani gets a token opposition lawyer to play but as the judge, Prakash Raj's appearance makes the biggest impact. Not only does he play it really well but does so with amazing ease. Even the director lady herself makes a nice little appearance. The reunion of Kamal Sadanaah and Kajol on-screen where they starred in Bekhudi 30 years ago was fun as well. But undoubtedly, it is the recurring appearance of Aamir Khan that takes the cake. This one was a reminder of how Khan is a fine actor as he is so calm, composed and underplays with sincerity. I wouldn't reveal too much about his role or else it would be a spoiler.

The Verdict

Powered by a phenomenal performance by Vishal Jethwa in the centre as Venky especially in the second half, Salaam Venky has its intentions in the right place. In an attempt to tell a true story, director Revathi does plenty of things right when it comes to knitting the light-hearted nature with the inevitability of death. However, the film tries to do too much towards the end which was actually the main fight for Venky and his mother but in the movie, by the time you have reached there, you want to feel more about Venky than the bigger matter in hand. The original Venkatesh was a brave boy whose story will be remembered for ages and Salaam Venky, the movie is a sincere attempt to convey that story albeit not as effectively as one would have liked.

Rating - *** (3/5)