Prashanth Neel's Salaar: A remake or not? Fans left in confusion

Fans of Prashanth Neel had been concerned that the filmmaker was adapting his 2014 Kannada film Ugramm into Telugu ever since the basic concept of Salaar was made public. Nevertheless, the producers dismissed it as mere speculations both during and after production. Additionally, lately, producer Vijay Kiragandur stated to Bollywood Hungama, "There's no truth to these rumours." Both were created by Prashanth, who knows how to deliver a unique product every time. For this reason, the director's latest comment to Cinema Express has left fans perplexed.

Despite claiming to not see it as a remake, Prashanth confirmed to the publication that Salaar was an adaptation of his 2014 film. He was quoted as saying, “I always envisioned the audience watching Ugramm in a packed theatre, it wasn’t fulfilled during its release. The film was pirated within 20 days of release. Despite KGF’s success, I couldn’t move forward without doing justice to that story.”

He also added that Salaar is a mix of Ugramm’s story with KGF’s filmmaking, “Ugramm holds a special place in my heart, I wanted it to reach the heights of KGF. I don’t see it as a remake though. I’ve made changes for it to suit Prabhas and Prithviraj Sukumaran. Some might criticise that it’s a mix of Ugramm’s story and KGF’s style of making, but I will take it as a compliment as both are my films”.

While some fans of Prabhas vehemently denied that the film could be a remake of Ugramm, others were left confused. One fan wrote on X, “Kavalsinantha business chesukoni antha ready iena tharawate #Salaar ni #Ugramm remake ani chepesadu enti. (After the film did good business, he tells us that Salaar is a remake of Ugramm)”.

Another couldn’t believe that the director, who recently stated he wouldn’t link KGF to Salaar out of respect for Prabhas, would remake Ugramm, writing, “In an interview with SSR, Prashanth Neel mentioned, I have a huge responsibility when working with an actor like #Prabhas. I cannot connect KGF with Salaar just like that. But how can he use #Ugramm backdrop for #Salaar. #SalaarCeaseFireOnDec22”

On December 22, Salaar will be released in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi. In addition to Jagapathi Babu, Sriya Reddy, and other important parts, the film stars Prabhas, Prathviraj Sukumaran, and Shruti Haasan in the prominent roles.