Kannur Squad on OTT: High praise for Mammootty-starrer from non-Malayali audiences
The Roby Varghese Raj directed police procedural has drawn comparison with Karthi’s Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru
Nov 18, 2023
Mammootty in a still from the film
Malayalam superstar Mammootty’s last theatrical release, Kannur Squad, a police procedural that went on to become his highest grossing film, making it to the Rs 100-crore club, is now available to stream in not only the original language, but Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi as well. The film, directed by Roby Varghese Raj, based on a script by his brother Rony David Raj and Muhammed Shafi, dropped on Disnety+Hotstar on November 17. Interestingly, the film has been drawing a lot of eyeballs after its OTT premiere, especially from non-Malayali audiences, most of who are highly appreciative of the intense content and performances. In fact, Kannur Squad had drawn comparison with Karthi’s 2017 film Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru and has left some audiences divided about which one is the better police drama.
“Probably, best movie of the year by far. Screenplay, acting, direction and background music was top notch,” wrote Nis on X, adding that he’s glad there’s a Hindi dubbed version and that Bollywood will, hence, not attempt to remake and ruin it in the future. Aditya Ajit wrote, “Kannur Squad is a well-made thriller that has a mix of realism and mass that takes its time to set up but after it does, it becomes so engaging that time just flies away.” Sainath Reddy added that Telugu stars ought to see Kannur Squad as an example of a clean movie that is not about unnecessary elevations and hypes.
As for the Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru comparions, Roshan Shriram opined that the Karthi film is miles ahead, but that Kannur Squad is also a good watch. Karthik C noted that he felt Theeran vibes from the Kannur Squad trailer, but added that the film didn’t remind him of the Tamil movie as much. Several netizens remained divided about which one was the better investigative thriller, with Kannur Squad winning some votes from non-Malayali audiences.
Kannur Squad has been inspired by the real-life police squad set up by Kannur SP S Sreejith. In the film, Mammotty plays a lowly-ranked official, an ASI called George Martin, who, heads a team that also includes Jayan (Rony), Jose (Azeez Nedumangad) and Shafi (Shabareesh Varma), who are giving a week’s time by SP Manu Needhi Cholan (Kishore), to track down and nab the culprits in a heinous home invasion in Kasargod that resulted in the death of the home owner. The investigative team and their trusted Tata Sumo head from Kasargod to Mumbai, Bhubaneshwar, Payagpur and Babaganj, in pursuit of the criminals, as they attempt to flee the country and cross into Nepal. Whether or not George and his motley gang can apprehend the culprits on time forms the crux of the narrative.
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