{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}} {{Use Indian English|date=May 2024}} {{Infobox film | image = Salem Vishnu.jpg | caption = Poster | director = Thiagarajan | writer = Thiagarajan | producer = Thiagarajan | starring = {{ubl|Thiagarajan|Rupini}} | cinematography = Gopinath | editing = Siva Subramaniam | music = Sangeetha Rajan | studio = Lakshmi Shanthi Movies | released = {{Film date|df=y|1990|02|16}} | runtime = 130 minutes | country = India | language = Tamil }}
'''''Salem Vishnu''''' ({{IPAc-en|s|eɪ|l|ə|m}}) is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language action film written, produced and directed by Thiagarajan. The film stars Thiagarajan and Rupini. It is a spinoff/prequel of the Malayalam film ''New Delhi'' (1987), with Thiagarajan reprising his role from that film.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 March 2022 |title=37 வருடங்களை நிறைவு செய்யும் தியாகராஜன் 3 வேடங்களில் நடித்த எரிமலை! |url=https://tamil.news18.com/photogallery/entertainment/cinema-thiyagarajan-erimalai-completes-37-years-jbr-scs-719894-page-6.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412100237/https://tamil.news18.com/photogallery/entertainment/cinema-thiyagarajan-erimalai-completes-37-years-jbr-scs-719894-page-6.html |archive-date=12 April 2023 |access-date=10 May 2022 |website=News18 |language=ta}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Shekhar |first=Arunkumar |date=1 August 2019 |title=Movie Spin-offs: Dawn of the Derivatives |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/english/2019/Aug/01/movie-spin-offs-dawn-of-the-derivatives-2012201.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802174543/http://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/english/2019/aug/01/movie-spin-offs-dawn-of-the-derivatives-2012201.html |archive-date=2 August 2019 |access-date=13 May 2024 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> The film was released on 16 February 1990.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Salem Vishnu (1990) |url=https://screen4screen.com/movies/salem-vishnu |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250322090337/https://screen4screen.com/movies/salem-vishnu |archive-date=2025-03-22 |access-date=2026-03-25 |work=Screen4Screen |language=en}}</ref>
== Plot == {{more plot|date=September 2024}} Vishnu is a clever student, but he cannot tolerate cheating at the school exam, and beats up the professor; he was subsequently expelled. He decides to work as a car mechanic. Vishnu and Shanthi fell in love with each other.
Vishnu's brother Siva is an honest municipal commissioner. Siva and his wife Lakshmi, a jailer, are transferred to the same city where Vishnu lives. They are shocked when Vishnu tells that he works as a car mechanic.
Kathavarayan, the municipal chairman, and his brother Ashokan are corrupt, influential persons. Siva clashes with them. Meantime, Ashokan kills journalist Raji, who sends the details of their illegal works to Siva. Ashokan is later sent to jail. Siva wants also to punish Kathavarayan, but Ashokan kills him. The guiltless Vishnu is sent to jail for killing his own brother. In jail, he meets his sister-in-law Lakshmi and his enemy Ashokan. What transpires later forms the crux of the story.
== Cast == {{cast listing| *Thiagarajan as Salem Vishnu *Rupini as Shanthi *R. Sarathkumar as Siva *Geetha as Lakshmi *Ratheesh as Ashokan *Goundamani as Kathavarayan *Meesai Murugesan as Vishnu's father *S. N. Lakshmi as Vishnu's mother *Vinu Chakravarthy as Jailor Sundaram *Vennira Aadai Moorthy as Muthu *V. K. Ramasamy as Pachai *Vaishnavi as Raji *Jayamalini as Jaya *M. S. Bhaskar as Professor *Omakuchi Narasimhan as Zamindar *Oru Viral Krishna Rao as Lawyer *K. R. Savithri *C. Pravin Kumar as Police officer *Pasi Narayanan as Mechanic *Kullamani as Mechanic *Vellai Subbaiah as Mechanic *Karuppu Subbiah as Mechanic }}
== Soundtrack == The soundtrack was composed by Sangeetha Rajan.<ref>{{cite web |title=Salem Vishnu Tamil LP Vinyl Record by Sangeetha Rajan |url=https://banumass.com/product/vinyl-records/tamil-vinyl-records/salem-vishnu-tamil-lp-vinyl-record-by-sangeetha-rajan/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209115103/https://banumass.com/product/vinyl-records/tamil-vinyl-records/salem-vishnu-tamil-lp-vinyl-record-by-sangeetha-rajan/ |archive-date=9 February 2024 |access-date=9 February 2024 |work=Banumass}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" ! Song !! Singer(s) !! Lyrics !!Duration |- | "Hey Nanaa Vayasu Pulla" || K. S. Chithra ||Vairamuthu|| 4:23 |- | "Kai Thottu Parkkanum" || S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki || Vaali||4:13 |- | "Mayankinen Mannan Ingu" || S. P. Balasubrahmanyam || Thiagarajan||3:43 |- | "Valayal Satham" || S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki || Vaali|| 4:12 |- | "Varuvathu Varattum" || Sangeetha Rajan || Kennedy||4:55 |}
== Reception == P. S. S. of ''Kalki'' praised the performances of Geetha, Goundamani and Vinu Chakravarthy, outdoor locations and camera angles but panned the obscene dance movements and humour track and concluded saying let it be a film made entirely for commercial purposes and questioned the relying on formal legal schemes to check irregularities, which the reviewer deemed useless.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=பி. எஸ். எஸ். |date=11 March 1990 |title=சேலம் விஷ்ணு |url=https://archive.org/details/kalki1990-03-11/page/24/mode/2up |access-date=9 February 2024 |magazine=Kalki |page=25 |language=ta |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == *{{IMDb title}} {{Thiagarajan}}
Category:1990 action films Category:1990 films Category:1990 Indian films Category:1990 Tamil-language films Category:Film spinoffs Category:Films about corruption in India Category:Films directed by Thiagarajan Category:Films scored by S. P. Venkatesh Category:Films with screenplays by Thiagarajan Category:Indian action films Category:Indian prequel films Category:Tamil-language action films Category:Tamil-language Indian films