A film where the hero plays the role of a police officer is usually cue for bombastic action scenes glorifying the power of the khaki uniform, with several sequences justifying custodial violence and extrajudicial killings. Dulquer Salmaan’s Salute, directed by Rosshan Andrrews and written by Bobby-Sanjay, stands out in this respect. The thriller is centered around a policeman whose conscience comes in the way of doing what is necessary to keep his job.
The film begins with Aravind Karunakaran (Dulquer Salmaan), an SI who is on long leave, going to a police station to get the details of a case that he had investigated three years ago. The double murders of Martin and Sheeba had rocked the town back in the day, and Aravind along with others in his team, including his superior officer and brother Ajith Karunakaran (Manoj K Jayan), had come under tremendous political pressure to resolve it quickly. Convinced that they had the right man, the police at the time planted evidence to secure his arrest and nail him in court. But later, an unexpected encounter makes it clear that the criminal is someone else. While everyone is convinced that they must let the matter be, Aravind cannot be at peace.
Dulquer is understated as the conflicted Aravind, caught between familial love and his strong sense of right and wrong. There are shades of Nayattu in the film, with police officers who know the system like the back of their hand, playing cat and mouse with each other. Aravind hero worships his brother, but the relationship unravels when they disagree on the case. The other characters in the family are oblivious to what’s happening, and this feels strange because they’re a close-knit unit. Nevertheless, the tension between the brothers is an interesting angle and doesn’t fall into a predictable pattern. The absence of a conventional villain, someone the hero cop has to vanquish, also works to the film’s advantage.
I wish, however, that the film had explored Aravind’s guilt and dilemma some more. He comes off as a black-and-white cop who goes by the rulebook, someone who is ready to make major decisions at the drop of a hat. Are there no chinks in his armour, no grey shades to his personality? The ‘too perfect’ nature of his character makes him a little less real, while Manoj K Jayan’s nuanced performance makes Ajith more human.
Watch: Trailer of Salute
The screenplay is engaging, but if you think about it, the progress of the plot depends on too many coincidences. Aravind visits the same jewellery shop where the convict’s sister works, setting him on the path to rectifying his mistakes. A random case he investigates in a faraway district turns out to be connected to the one he’s obsessed with. A vital clue emerges from this investigation that leads to many other discoveries. Though this serendipity is rather convenient, the film benefits from convincing performances of the supporting cast, including Binu Pappu, Alencier, Indrans and others.
The women characters don’t have much to do. Lakshmy Gopalaswamy and Saniya Iyappan are largely in the background as “family” while Diana Penty plays Aravind’s supportive girlfriend. Thankfully though, Salute does not waste any time with romantic songs or sentimentalism. It sticks to being a police procedural albeit an old fashioned one, with Jakes Bejoy’s background score complementing the action without amplifying anything unnecessarily. There isn’t much by way of forensic evidence or smart technology to help track the criminal; it’s a good old chase with a dogged policeman who’s after a crafty criminal. In fact, it felt very much like Dulquer of Salute chasing after Dulquer of Kurup.
The ending of the film reminded me of Sean Penn’s The Pledge, the same tantalising feeling that the big reveal is just around the corner, only to have it snatched away. A well-made, mostly interesting film that could have been better if it had managed to make the viewer warm up to the characters more.
The film is now streaming on SonyLiv.
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the series/film. TNM Editorial is independent of any business relationship the organisation may have with producers or any other members of its cast or crew.