Salaam Venky

Salaam Venky is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language slice-of-life drama film directed by Revathi. The film is produced by Connekkt Media along with Suraj Singh and Shraddha Agrawal through their banners, Blive Productions and RTake Studios, respectively. Starring Kajol and Vishal Jethwa (as the title character) in the lead roles, the film is centered around the true story of a mother who does everything she can to let her son, diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, live life to the fullest. The film is based on the book The Last Hurrah by Shrikanth Murthy, which is based on the real-life events of Kolavennu Venkatesh and his mother, K. Sujata.

The film was announced on 7 October 2021 by Revathi and Kajol. Principal photography began on 11 February 2022; the first schedule took place in Mumbai. The film was theatrically released on 9 December 2022.

Plot
Diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Venkatesh is supposed to be sick and die by the age of 16. Instead, his zest for life, determination, and soaring human spirit surprise medical science. The ever-smiling Venkatesh wants to donate his organs before he leaves this world. At 24-years-old, he challenges the state, and the law of the country and earns his place in the hearts of people.

Cast

 * Kajol as Kolavennu Sujata Krishnan
 * Vishal Jethwa as Kolavennu Venkatesh "Venky" Prasad Krishnan
 * Aahana Kumra as Sanjana, TV Journalist
 * Rahul Bose as Lawyer Parvez Alam
 * Rajeev Khandelwal as Dr. Shekhar Tripathi
 * Prakash Raj as Judge Anupam Bhatnagar
 * Anant Mahadevan as Guruji
 * Priyamani as Nanda Kumar, the Public Prosecutor
 * Kamal Sadanah as Karunesh Prasad, Venky's father
 * Maala Parvathi as Nurse
 * Ridhi Kumar as Sharda Prasad Krishnan, Venky's sister
 * Aneet Padda as Nandini (Debut role)
 * Revathi as Radha Bhatnagar, Judge's wife
 * Aamir Khan as an illusion of Sujata
 * Jaineeraj Rajpurohit as Mohan

Production
The film was announced in October 2021, tentatively titled The Last Hurrah. The announcement consisted of a picture of the lead and the director. Later however, the name was changed to Salaam Venky when the shooting commenced.

The main parts of the film were shot from February–April 2022 in India, the remaining parts were shot later on in the year including Aamir Khan's cameo. Filming wrapped up on 3 October 2022.

Soundtrack
The music of the film is composed by Mithoon. Lyrics are penned by Mithoon, Sandeep Shrivastava and Kausar Munir.

Theatrical
Salaam Venky was released on 9 December 2022 in cinemas.

Home media
The digital and satellite rights are held by Zee5 and Zee Cinema, respectively. The film was premiered on ZEE5 from February 10, 2023.

Reception
Dhaval Roy of The Times of India rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote "The heart-touching fare, replete with positivity as much as pain, is a must-watch".