Salaam Venky, a fictionalised rendition of a true incident that filmmaker Revathy deftly mines for all its heartbreaking potential without going overboard, is about a dying boy’s final desire and a mother’s unwavering struggle on her son’s behalf before life ebbs out of him.
Maudlin tales of terminal illness often go off the rails when they push too hard to activate our lachrymal cells. Salaam Venky doesn’t.
Revathy fills what is essentially a socially relevant “conversation” film with innate emotional verve, ideational depth, and compelling dramatic highs. She works with a wonderful cast of actors led by the redoubtable Kajol, who is absolutely luminous as a mother swaying between despondency and despair on the one hand, and hope and resolve on the other. As a result, a story about a contentious personal and legal conflict emerges that may keep an audience interested in how it develops and ends.
Despite the excellent performances, Salaam Venky does not ultimately depend on the star’s glitz. The star of the piece is the narrative. The filmmaker does the material justice.