PremiumSalute movie review: Dulquer Salmaan’s rooted investigation drama holds promise but lacks the knockout punch
Scriptwriters Bobby and Sanjay have detailed the world of police officers – be it their vast network, the immense pressure they are under, the in-fighting, the procedures and also how life becomes hell if you turn against them, even if you were one of them
Last Updated: 06.15 AM, Mar 18, 2022
Story: Sub inspector Aravind Karunakaran and his colleagues including his elder brother and DySP Ajith Karunakaran are under massive pressure to solve a double homicide. While they narrow down the suspect, they don’t have enough proof to make a case and hence fabricate evidence to implicate him. Aravind, however, is against this ploy and takes it up with his superiors who begin punishing him for his upright ways, forcing him to break away from the job and his family. Years later, he decides to take a crack at the case again. Will he succeed or make more enemies in the process?
Review: Director Rosshan Andrrews and scriptwriters Bobby and Sanjay had last done an investigative thriller almost a decade ago with Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Mumbai Police. What made the film work to a large extent is how the probe tied neatly and surprisingly to the personal life of the investigating officer. Salute too makes use of this, but here it’s more about the clash of ideologies between its characters that gets fleshed out, more than the investigation itself.
The protagonist, sub inspector Aravind Karunakaran (Dulquer Salmaan), is the idealistic type who chooses being a cop over a lawyer to follow in the footsteps of his brother Ajith Karunakaran. However, after he is part of a conspiracy within the cop circle to fabricate evidence to implicate a man, whom the senior officers think has committed a double homicide but can’t prove, Aravind has a fallout. Unable to digest how the world of police works and more importantly his brother’s ways, he takes a long leave from work and also stays away from his family. A family function, however, brings him back in town and leads him to give the case another crack. But this time, without the power of being a cop.
In Salute, Bobby and Sanjay have detailed this world of police – be it their vast network, the in-fighting, the procedures and also how life becomes hell if you turn against them, even if you were one of them. And it’s not just the power they wield that comes to focus through the film, the scriptwriters also put the spotlight on the massive pressure that the officers are often under – sometimes from their higher-ups and almost always from the weight of the consequent fallible actions. Salute’s main strength lies in this – how through the story it defines the personal and professional lives of the cops and in this case, how it affects the dynamics between the two brothers.
The investigative part, however, holds promise but never quite delivers. Even as Aravind chases after an unknown killer, who keeps forging identities, you are never hooked to the case. It’s also probably because he himself is never actually on the hotseat of finding the culprit. While the story itself is about his obsession to prove that the implicated person is innocent, it sort of becomes a side show with him stumbling on clues almost accidentally. It’s also a film where you would wonder if the film would have ended better if it didn’t have Aravind’s final dialogue – considering a vast portion was indeed dedicated to the investigation.
Dulquer ably showcases the varied sides of Aravind and it’s probably the anger that also differentiates each phase. You could feel that he’s a bit green behind the ear as he first goes up against a gang of political goons for roughing up his brother. Though there’s a hint of restraint when he returns two years later, the pent-up rage that has been building up surfaces soon after he finds himself powerless. Salute isn’t a typical Dulquer film and the actor understands it well, he doesn’t let the character err too much from the graph except at certain points and these make strong impacts.
Manoj K Jayan plays the other pivotal character. Contrary to Aravind, Ajith’s graph is all over the place and that’s what the role demanded too – considering the pressure he is in, from within the family as well as the police establishment. You could almost feel his stress every time he’s at home or with his cop colleagues.
Diana Penty is massively underutilised in the role as Aravind’s girlfriend. Shaheen Siddique and Sudheer Karamana are the other actors who make an impression. Jakes Bejoy’s music is just right for this grounded investigation drama that doesn’t rely on too many gimmicks of the genre and lets its characters’ emotions drive it. Aslam Purayil’s cinematography is another plus in the film, which is paced and edited well to be watched on a streaming platform.
Verdict: Salute isn’t a typical Dulquer thriller. But given it’s an OTT release, the makers have used the freedom to delve more into the characters’ mindspace and that works well for this grounded investigation drama, which is definitely worth a watch.