Lal Salaam releasing February 9, 2024 is director Aishwarya Rajinikanth's third feature film after 3 (2012) and Vai Raja Vai (2015), and the movie stars her Superstar father Rajinikanth in an extended special appearance. Lal Salaam is also Aishwarya's first time collaboration with actors Vishnu Vishal and Vikranth who play the lead roles of cricketers from conflicted communities in the movie. A SWOT analysis of the movie follows: 

Strengths: 

• The biggest strength of Lal Salaam is the star power at the forefront of the film i.e. Rajinikanth. The actor has taken on a bold role i.e. a Muslim character preaching communal harmony, at a time when Islamophobia has been more prevalent than ever in a BJP*-ruled India. Rajini is expected to appear for more than 1 hour in Lal Salaam, which comes with a runtime of 2 hours 32 minutes 21 seconds.  

* - Since 2014, The Bharatiya Janata Party or the BJP has been the ruling political party in India under the incumbent Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP is aligned with right-wing politics and has close ideological and organizational links to the far-right Hindu nationalist organization - the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

• Besides Rajinikanth, the other big name attached to Lal Salaam is music composer AR Rahman. While his catchy album hasn't exactly gone 'viral', AR Rahman's compositions hits no less, and are as promising as they can be to elevate the film Lal Salaam on the big screen. 

• Lead stars Vishnu Vishal and Vikranth both were real life cricket players before they ventured into movies, and their casting in Lal Salaam promises as much focus on the sport as the social messages in the movie.  

Weakness:

• Rajinikanth being at the forefront of Lal Salaam has meant that his legion of fans have taken the movie to be another full fledged outing from the star actor. Complaints of the Lal Salaam promotions being "not enough" have echoed everywhere, in addition to laments that Lyca Productions has not fully banked on the 'Rajini audience' for Lal Salaam.  

• Conversely, there is also skepticism about Rajinikanth being oversold, when the ideological messages it conveys is the heart and center of Lal Salaam. 

Opportunities:

• Rajinikanth's strong hold in the Tamil overseas market is a big add to Lal Salaam's overseas business. 

• Lal Salaam has story, dialogues by film's cinematographer Vishnu Rangasamy and his debut work in writing is based on two real life incidents that happened with respect to cricket, and the burning of a Hindu temple chariot in his hometown. Lal Salaam doing well would mean a major boost to this rising talent.

• At the Lal Salaam audio launch director Aishwarya Rajinikanth had described her technical team as 'Lagaan' team, referencing the 2001 Hindi sports drama where actor Aamir Khan formed an absolute underdog team of rookies. As witnessed with the attention lyricist Mashook Rahman has been getting for the Jalaali song from Lal Salaam, the movie's performance could potentially platform many lesser known talents.

Threats: 

• Lal Salaam is releasing at a time when even major movie releases with well known stars have been unable to attract theater audience in Tamil Nadu. While film producers are making do with deals from OTT and broadcast rights, the theaters have been struggling. For a mid-size film like Lal Salaam even with a star power like Rajini backing it, the box-office fate remains inconspicuous.

Related: 5 Reasons to watch Lal Salaam  Lal Salaam FDFS, Plot, Censor, Runtime, Cast & Crew