Dulquer Salmaan's 'Salute' review: A unique take on investigative thriller
Salute is Malayalam cinema's latest offering featuring the flamboyant star Dulquer Salmaan in the lead. After playing a charming loverboy in his last release—the 2022 Tamil film Hey Sinamika— Salmaan dons the hat of a police officer in this highly-anticipated investigative thriller. The film, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Rosshan Andrrews, was released on Friday. It is currently streaming on SonyLIV. Here's our review.
Story is about a cop haunted by his own conscience
Salute revolves around a police officer Aravind (Salmaan) who is part of a police team—led by his brother Ajith (Manoj K Jayan)—that is after a person accused in a double-murder case. The team frames an autorickshaw driver for the crime after being pressured by political parties and the public. Haunted by his own conscience, Aravind goes on a hunt to nab the real criminal.
Novel narrative; one feels horror even without ant graphic visuals
A film with a cop chasing a faceless murderer could make the perfect plot for a cat-and-mouse drama. But what makes Salute novel is its narrative. Especially, the part where an innocent person is falsely implicated is exceptionally spine-chilling even though there are no gruesome visuals. All the actors, including Salmaan and leading lady Diana Penty, fit their roles perfectly like a glove.
Slow first half might make you want to give up
The initial process of the police proceedings is a tad slow and tests your patience. Also, the investigation and search operations that Aravind conducts to nab the real murderer are of the typical, run-of-the-mill kind that we have been seeing in films of the same genre forever. Also, a few conflicts that come up after the proceedings seem boring and could have been shortened.
'Salute' is an interesting take on investigative thriller
Everything in Salute happens in bits and pieces—one has to connect the dots during the pre-climax, which is more like a brain-teaser. But if you have the patience to sit through the slow first half, you're in for a treat. Salute is a direct-to-OTT release, but we would've loved to watch it on the big screen. We are going with 3.5 stars for Salute.
