Salaar a big-scale remake of Ugramm? Film-goers speculate after trailer release of Prabhas-starrer

The makers of Salaar finally released their much-awaited full length trailer earlier this afternoon. The film, starring Prabhas and Prithviraj Sukumaran in lead roles, is slated to release in 4 days on December 22. And while many film-goers were enthused to see the big scale of Salaar seemingly executed with finesse, many fans also couldn’t help but finding more similarities in Salaar and director Prashanth Neel’s 2014 debut film Ugramm.

Salaar remake of Ugramm in large scale, an X user posted

Giving details about the similarities in Salaar and Ugramm, one X user (formerly Twitter) posted, “Ugramm first half is Salaar Part 1. Friends will become enemies that will be part 2.” Another X user commented in a derogatory manner, “Salaar Remake of Ugramm in large scale.. That’s it.” The said user also tagged Hombale films, the production banner for Salaar in his post, adding, “Well done, don’t give Kannada version more. You will receive more negative on first day.”

Pointing out specific similarities between the two films, another X user posted, “So Pramod (Prithviraj’s brother) doesn’t like #Prabhas  in the movie. Another Ugramm reference!”

This is however not the first time these rumours have come up about similarities between Ugramm and Salaar. Earlier, around June 2023, reports had come up that the script of Salaar have many themes and elements that overlap with Ugramm, the film that launched Neel’s filmmaking career and was a massive box office back when it release.

Later in October, an old video of music composer Ravi Basrur surfaced online where Basrur acknowledged the same, adding,  “Everyone knows that. But, no matter how he does it, we should wait and see.”

All my films will have shades of Ugramm: Neel in an old interview

Meanwhile, in an older interview, Prashanth Neel himself had spoken about the subject. He had said then, “Salaar's is a fresh story. It's not a remake or adaptation of 'Ugramm'." At the same time, Neel had also said that all of his films will have some shades of 'Ugramm', adding that its his style. 

Ugramm, which released in February 2014, was the story of a young man (played by Sriimurali) who gets involved in the world of crime and gangsters. Besides Sriimurali, the film also featured actress Haripriya in a prominent role. Meanwhile, Salaar is all set to hit the theatres worldwide on December 22.