Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire

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 realizes that his daughter Aadhya, unbeknownst to him, has gone to Varanasi to immerse her mother’s ashes. Her arrival alerts Obulamma, a loyal maidservant to Vardha’s apparently-insane step-sister Radha Rama; she instructs their henchmen to abduct her. 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 classified 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. 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 revolution. 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 to 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 the 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 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.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 (Neel’s first) 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.