Film: Salim
Director: N V Nirmal Kumar
Cast: Vijay Antony, Aksha, Arulraj, Manohar, Chandramouli
After a fairly engaging thriller ‘Naan’, Vijay Antony is onto his second acting venture ‘Salim’. It’s about a man who is forced to act against his nature, when he finds the situation around him getting out of hand. The plot may not be a novel one, but debutant director Nirmal Kumar has managed to keep the action-suspense thriller engaging for the most part.
Vijay Antony plays Salim, a doctor working in a prestigious hospital. The film opens with a crime, Salim’s life getting interlinked with it at a later stage. The early part establishes the characters. Salim was calm, patient to a fault and a humanitarian. He had a good job at a prestigious hospital and a pretty fiance. But one day he finds both his professional and personal life going haywire. Vijay Antony subtly essays the various nuances of the character, effectively bringing in Salim’s transition from a patient man to an aggressive one. Aksha fits in suitably as Salim’s temperamental fiance who finds him too boring and their relationship sans ‘salt and pepper’. It’s about how Salim humiliated by one and all, decides enough was enough and makes his move.
In the second half the screenplay takes a thriller mode and the narration gains pace, where Salim kidnaps a bunch of delinquents, holes up in a hotel and puts forth his demands. The entire ambiance of the hotel surrounded by cops, politicians, the media and the public, has a realistic feel.
The expediency of the situation is brought out well by the director. There are many situations here that give an edge-of-the-seat feel.
The narration gains momentum and never lets go till the finale, which ends with another twist.
Some light moments too are weaved in here. Chandramouli as the cop in charge of the investigation, Manohar as the minister and Aruldass as the disgruntled cop lend adequate support.
‘Salim’ may not have the best of scripts, but with its racy pace and twists, it manages to keep one glued to the screen for the most part.