#getting technical

or more specifically, their supposed 'absence'

his character was MADE to be that way.

the only emotion we've seen him feel in the present is a child-like sort of contentment (and we've only seen that around the kids) or rage.

any peace or even the ability to express any other emotion freely does not come to Deva easily.

he is currently in a state where only rage serves him any purpose, and the only thing that can come closest to giving him any joy, is when he's interacting with children.

to add on, he does have a sense of guilt attached to his violence now, even though it comes so naturally to him, because his mother has made it something that brings him shame to express but he is so familiar with the emotion, that if he's restricted from showing it, he may as well stop himself from feeling anything.

so prabhas choosing to play the character like this, including prashanth's direction of his character, is very deliberate: it takes effort (in it's own way) to act emotionless while maintaining screen presence and intensity

adding onto that, we see deva multiple times, show very nuanced, specific emotions throughout the movie:

Oh man, things are about to get crazy in here when Valerie finally learns the truth behind her battle suit upgrade! This chapter is important but it’s a little lengthy so be prepared for lots of dialogue! And in the next chapter will be the moment of truth where Valerie decides if its time to retire or become the Red Huntress once again! DUN DUN DAAAAAA!

Writing Mother. From Paris to Dorset.

the coloring of salaar is very high contrast, and leans heavily towards warmer tones

and even though this may not be visually pleasing to some who don't prefer these specific aesthetics, it is very necessary, in order to frame this universe to seem as oppressive and grim as it is meant to look.

this universe (and also kgf) are universes where every single moment, whether centering around a relationship, or part of the backstory, is blanketed by the theme of sheer violence and loss.

movies with a dark storyline and vibrant colors (for example, baahubali, or rrr) can afford to be colored like that, because we're MEANT to enjoy the lighter aspects of the universe as well. the audience has to experience even the softer emotions and any festivity happening within the universe.

the effects used in salaar are required to immerse the audience in that kind of dark, saturated environment:

so the audience doesn't forget – especially in scenes with the absence of any onscreen violence – the grit of this place and the people within it.

the severity of the violence depicted and the magnitude of the world building doesn't matter – if the audience isn't able to effortlessly accept that this is a fantasy, dystopian setting.

it should also be noted that the movie has no moments where we're forced to sit through that classic mistake some movies make: the 'night blindness' coloring. where, in the interest of depicting a physically/metaphorically dark place, the audience's visibility of the scene is restricted the subtle lighting of these dark scenes has been handled well:

additionally, prashanth and the actors have also specified, that the whole universe and all motives within it, rely partly, if not completely on violence – especially deva's character, whose violence is something that's an integral part of him, so his scenes in particular are very warm, tone-wise

but i do think the movie overall has been balanced well to prevent them from having a strictly monotonous look (something that guntur kaaram received criticism for):

the main purpose of the film's artistic choices with coloring and contrast is to subconsciously drag the audience's perspective out of reality & into the darkness of it's make-believe world, and it does achieve that