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Salute Movie Review: Dulquer Salmaan's Cop Drama Is Realistic, Unconventional & Intriguing
Salute, the highly anticipated Dulquer Salmaan-starrer is finally released on Sony LIV. The cop drama marks the actor-producer's first collaboration with the renowned filmmaker Rosshan Andrrews and writer duo Bobby-Sanjay. Bankrolled by Dulquer Salmaan's home banner Wayfarer Films, Salute also marks the Malayalam debut of Bollywood actress Diana Penty.
Did the Dulquer Salmaan-Rosshan Andrrews project live up to expectations? Read Salute movie review here...
What's Yay:
The realistic, unconventional plot and narrative
Dulquer Salmaan and the rest of the star cast
Background score
What's Nay:
The slow pace
Artificiality in certain dialogues
Wasted characters
Plot
Aravind Karunakaran (Dulquer Salmaan) is a young and intelligent police officer who joins the force and works under his elder brother and senior officer Ajith Karunakaran (Manoj K Jayan). However, the investigation of a murder case changes the equation between the brothers, and this eventually leads to Aravind's temporary exit from the police force. But, he continues the investigation on his own. How this case affects Aravind's life and career and where it leads him, forms the crux of Salute.
Script & Direction
Director Rosshan Andrrews and writers duo Bobby-Sanjay is back with yet another police story, that is truly unconventional yet right realistic. Salute is not the usual police story that gives its viewers major adrenalin-pumping moments. Instead, it is a film that focuses on real-life and even the "powerlessness" of the police force, which is quite contrary to the popular belief. Here we get a set of real humans in police uniforms. They struggle with the pressure from politicians and have deadlines to meet.
At the same time, Salute also effectively narrates the clash of two policemen, who happen to be brothers yet stand in the opposite poles with their ideologies. The biggest plus of this Rosshan Andrrews film is that it effectively blends the police story with a family drama without going overboard. There are some extremely well-written and conceived scenes that define the sibling's bond and relationships, without a touch of melodrama. When it comes to the investigation part, writers duo Bobby-Sanjay's well-written screenplay let the scenes unfold organically and that keeps the viewers hooked to the screen.
But Salute has its flaws too. The slow-paced narrative of the film is not something that will work for everyone. The dialogues, at certain places, become a bit too dramatic thus diluting the overall impact. The film has a large star cast - but only a very few actors get a defined role or scope to perform. Especially when it comes to the women, most of the characters are treated more like props. But all these factors don't prevent Salute from emerging as an intriguing cop drama.
Peformances
Dulquer Salmaan and his solid performance are the heart and soul of Salute. The actor successfully underplays his boyish charm and gets into the skin of a young police officer. Aravind Karunakaran's thirst to do the right thing and his struggles to find the truth is brilliantly portrayed by Dulquer, who shows immense growth as an actor.
Manoj K Jayan once again amazes as the man who is torn between the roles of a senior police officer and doting elder brother. Dulquer and Manoj's exceptional camaraderie is one of the biggest strengths of this Rosshan Andrrews directorial. Diana Penty makes a decent Malayalam debut with Salute and has neatly played her part. The rest of the star cast, including Indrans, Shaheen Siddique, Alencier Ley Lopez, Sudheer Karamana, Boban Alummoodan, Deepak Parambol, Irshad, Binu Pappu, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Saniya Iyappan, and others are good in their respective roles.
Technical Aspects
Aslam K Purayil, the cinematographer has created the perfect backdrop for the intriguing cop drama with his effective visualisation. A Sreekar Prasad has done a fine job with the editing. Jakes Bejoy, on the other hand, once again proves his expertise in handling the background music, with the fantastic score of Salute.
Verdict
Salute is a realistic, unconventional, and intriguing cop drama that dares to take a different route. This Dulquer Salmaan starrer is definitely worth a watch.
