Rosshan Andrrews' latest is his 7th collaboration with the writer duo of Bobby-Sanjay. Salute was scheduled to release in theatres in January but was delayed due to the Omicron wave. It finally released directly on SonyLiv, which created an uproar among the theatre owners in Kerala.
Salute is the story of Aravind Karunakaran, a sub-inspector, who along with his elder brother and few other policemen fabricate evidence to put a man behind bars. Overcome by guilt, Aravind tries to unveil the truth by gathering new evidence against the wishes of his other colleagues.
Dulquer Salmaan continues his excellent form in Salute. His restrained performance works well for this realistic police drama. Though you can't compare it with the iconic Mumbai Police that this director-writer duo came up with; Salute does manage to hold its own for most part. The makers do a decent job in keeping you guessing. Manoj K Jayan plays Dulquer's brother, Diana Penty makes her Malayalam film debut. Binu Pappu, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Saniya Iyappan, Alencier, Indrans, Boban Alummoodan co-star.
Saulte's runtime does pose some problems. For a thriller, Salute is a tad bit too long. There are times when you feel the characters are going around in circles but I loved their take on indentity theft. The background score by Jakes Bejoy is pulsating and apt.
