Rosshan Andrrews single-handedly redefined the Malayalam police investigation genre with his groundbreaking "Mumbai Police" (2013) and when it was announced that he was combining with superstar Dulquer Salmaan in the young hero's first-ever cop role, the expectations were already through the roof. Unfortunately, despite an excellent premise and some captivating moments here and there, "Salute" overall doesn't live up to its promise and meanders to a dull watch by the end.
Dulquer Salmaan stars as "Aravind Karunakaran" a disillusioned sub-inspector who has a crisis of conscience and decides to revisit an old case where he was forced by his superiors and political masters to frame an innocent man of murder. Hot on the trail of an elusive con-artist and serial killer, the troubled cop also has to contend with a group of corrupt policemen from his own ranks who are looking to cover up evidence of their malpractices.
Manoj K Jayan excels in a key supporting role and conveys all the gravitas and emotional turmoil his character goes through with the practised perfection of a seasoned veteran. Malayalam cinema really needs to make better use of such a gifted character actor, whose last memorable role came way back in 2012 with "Thattathin Marayathu".
Script-writers Bobby and Sanjay who have given Malayalam some of the finest thrillers in recent memory like "Traffic" (2011), "Mumbai Police" (2013) and "Kaanekkaane" (2021) opt for an unconventional gritty procedural approach for this tale. In searching for his elusive prey, our hero cop has to unravel a web of lies and deceit and we get more insight to the protagonist's psyche and personal demons as we get deeper and deeper into the investigation.
Dulquer Salmaan has clearly given the role his all and exudes the requisite dominating physicality and air of a steadfast policeman, while also displaying the vulnerability and anguish brought on by the weight of the predicaments he comes across. Diana Penty is downright atrocious as his love interest and provides nothing but cringe and facepalm-worthy moments in every scene she is in with her lip-synch going all over the place to add insult to injury to her abysmal acting.
The film deserves some praise in the way it depicted how an inefficient and corrupted system can bring down even the most moralistic police officers. The storyline is at its most impactful when it showcases the mental trauma and guilt an officer goes through when being forced to tow the company line but becomes an utter failure when looked through upon as a thriller.
The narrative promises a lot and manages to hook the audience and the quickening of narrative pace in the second half promises a riveting conclusion, only to offer up an unsatisfying and frankly, patronizing climax that leaves much to be desired. Alancier, Binu Pappu, Indrans and Vijayakumar Prabhakaran shine in their supporting roles while Saniya Iyappan makes no impact in a caricature-ish 'protagonist's niece who he is fond of' role.
Salute ends up as a mediocre thriller that had all the right elements and an excellent plot outline to work with but manages to squander it all in an ill-conceived effort to be different for different's sake. Perhaps the weight of expectations that another Bobby-Sanjay and Rosshan Anddrews combination carries worked to the project's undoing.
Not recommended!
