Salute | |
---|---|
Directed by | Rosshan Andrrews |
Written by | Bobby-Sanjay |
Produced by | Dulquer Salmaan |
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Aslam K. Purayil |
Edited by | A. Sreekar Prasad |
Music by | Jakes Bejoy |
Production company | |
Distributed by | SonyLIV |
Release date |
|
Running time | 143 minutes [1] |
Country | India |
Language | Malayalam |
Salute is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film, directed by Rosshan Andrrews and written by Bobby-Sanjay starring Dulquer Salmaan in the lead role as a cop. [2] [3] Produced by Dulquer Salmaan under his banner Wayfarer Films, the film has Aslam K. Purayil as the cinematographer while A. Sreekar Prasad handles the editing and Santhosh Narayanan was signed on to compose the original background score before being replaced by Jakes Bejoy. [4] [5]
The film was scheduled for a theatrical release on the occasion of Sankranti in January 2022, but was indefinitely postponed later due to the rise of Omicron cases in India. Later, it was announced that the film would be skipping the theatrical release and decided for a direct-to-streaming release on SonyLIV. [6] [7] It was set to have the world premiere on 18 March 2022, but premiered a day early, on 17 March 2022. [8] The film marks Diana Penty's Malayalam debut. It received positive reviews from critics.
Aravind Karunakaran, a sub-inspector, along with his colleagues and superior, Deputy Superintendent Ajith Karunakaran, who is also his brother, arrests a man named Murali, who they are convinced was a murderer they were looking for, forging evidences against him. However, they soon discover to their shock that the real murderer was someone else. While Ajith and the others are in solidarity over keeping silence about their misconduct, lest they risk their careers, Aravind retires from the force after refusing to be a part of the charade and getting condemned by his colleagues for the same.
A few years later, when Aravind returns to his hometown along with his friend Dia for his niece's wedding, he discovers certain leads that can lead him to the actual culprit, thereby saving Murali. Aravind then rejoins the force and begins to conduct the investigation on his own time, narrowing on a potential serial killer and identity thief who has been behind several murders around Kerala over the years using fake identities, while his brother and accomplices continue to sabotage his plans by transferring him to the Kasaragod branch only to find out that Aravind was getting closer and closer to the culprit. However, by the time Aravind tracks down his house, he finds out that the culprit died in a car accident while using another fake identity and his face is deformed. He nevertheless uses this in order to free Murali. Aravind is later suspended along with Ajith, Pramod, and Alex.
The movie ends with Aravind reading the culprit's letter, which acknowledges Aravind's findings, but after reading the date of the stamp, he realizes that the letter was written before the day the culprit died.
In May 2020, during the seven year anniversary of film Mumbai Police, director Rosshan Andrrews announced that he would be teaming up with Dulquer Salmaan for his next film which is a thriller. The film's story and screenplay is written by his regular collaborators Bobby & Sanjay marking their sixth film together. [9]
The principal photography began on 3 February 2021 in Kollam. [10] Diana Penty joined the sets on 9 February 2021 marking her debut in Malayalam film. [11] Manoj K. Jayan joined the shooting on 12 February 2021. [12] The major locations are Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kasaragod, and New Delhi. [13]
Salute released on SonyLiv on 17 March 2022 as a Direct-to-OTT release. [14] The film was originally planned to release in April 2021, but was postponed multiple times due to waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. The premiere was rescheduled multiple times before it was finally released on the platform on 17 March 2022. [15]
On 15 March 2022, ahead of the film's release, the Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK), banned Dulquer Salmaan's movies from releasing in theatres anymore since the lead actor, producer, makers had violated the rules and given the film out for a direct OTT release even though they had confirmed that it would have a theatrical release first. They also banned Wayfarer Films and Dulquer Salmaan projects. They said the ban would be permanent and refused to co-operate with Dulquer. [16] Later the ban was withdrawn by them. [17]
In a review for Firstpost , Anna M. M. Vetticad rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, “For the most part, Salute remains engaging (...) Somewhere in the second half though, the narrative begins to stretch itself, mistaking length for ruminativeness and needless additional seconds for detail.” [18] The Times of India gave 3.5/5 and wrote ," A cop drama with a difference." Rediff.com gave 3.5/5 and wrote, "Salute explores narratives of police brutality and unethical practices, power-hungry politicians who will stop at nothing and the helplessness of innocent victims of crime, observes Divya Nair". The News Minute gave 3.5/5 and wrote, "Dulquer's thriller is an engaging police procedural". Filmibeat gave 3/5 and wrote, "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". The Quint gave 3/5 and wrote, "Dulquer Salmaan's Gripping Thriller Deserves a Salute, Almost". Pinkvilla gave 3/5 and wrote, "A cold, detached character study in the guise of a crime procedural". "Janani K of India Today gave the film a rating of 3/5 and wrote "Dulquer Salmaan's riveting cop drama is replete with new ideas". [19] Shilpa Nair Anand of The Hindu commented "Dulquer Salmaan scores with his restrained performance as a cop". Mirchi9 gave 2.5/5 and wrote, " Dulquer's thriller is an engaging police procedural". Indian Express Reviewed "Dulquer Salmaan shines in absorbing investigative drama". [20]
Rosshan Andrrews is an Indian film director who mainly works in Malayalam cinema.
Gopi Sundar C.S. is an Indian music director, programmer, playback singer, songwriter, actor and performer who works in the Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil film industries.
Dulquer Salmaan is an Indian actor, playback singer and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in business management from Purdue University and worked as a business manager in Dubai before pursuing a career in acting. Dulquer is a recipient of several awards including, five Filmfare Awards South and a Kerala State Film Award.
Diana Penty is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Hindi films. She began her modelling career in 2005 when she was signed up by Elite Models India. Penty then made her acting debut with the romantic comedy film Cocktail (2012), for which she received Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut nomination.
Mumbai Police is a 2013 Indian Malayalam language neo-noir psychological thriller film written by Bobby-Sanjay and directed by Rosshan Andrrews. It stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Jayasurya, Rahman in the lead roles along with Kunchan, Aparna Nair, Deepa Vijayan, and debutant Hima Davis in supporting roles. Shweta Menon and Riyaz Khan appear in guest roles. The film is produced by Nisad Haneefa and co-produced by Nivas Haneef and Niyas Haneefa. The background score was composed by Gopi Sundar and the cinematography was handled by G. Diwakaran. The film was edited by Mahesh Narayanan.
Vaayai Moodi Pesavum is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language satirical romantic comedy film directed by Balaji Mohan. Produced by Varun Manian and S. Sashikanth under their respective production houses, Radiance Media Group and YNOT Studios, the film stars Dulquer Salmaan, in his maiden Tamil film, with Nazriya Nazim as female lead role while Madhoo, appearing in prominent role. It was filmed simultaneously in Tamil and Malayalam, the latter being titled as Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram with a slightly changed supporting cast.
Kali (transl. Rage) is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed and co-produced by Sameer Thahir. It stars Dulquer Salmaan and Sai Pallavi in lead roles. It is the second collaboration of Thahir and Salmaan, after Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi (2013).
Anupama Parameswaran is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil films.
Arjun Nandhakumar is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. He made his debut as a supporting actor in 2012 with Casanovva directed by Rosshan Andrrews.
Jomonte Suvisheshangal is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language family drama film directed by Sathyan Anthikkad and written by Iqbal Kuttippuram. The film stars Dulquer Salmaan, Mukesh, Aishwarya Rajesh and Anupama Parameshwaran. Aishwarya Rajesh made her Malayalam debut through this film.
Dulquer Salmaan is an Indian actor, playback singer and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam and Telugu films in addition to Tamil and Hindi films. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in business management from Purdue University and worked as a business manager in Dubai before pursuing a career in acting. Dulquer is a recipient of several awards including, five Filmfare Awards South, a South Indian International Movie Award, a Kerala Film Critics Association Award and a Kerala State Film Award.
Comrade in America is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language adventure film directed by Amal Neerad, starring Dulquer Salmaan and Karthika Muralidharan in the lead roles. The music is composed by Gopi Sundar, and Renadive handles the cinematography. The film released on 5 May 2017, also the birth date of Karl Marx. It received mixed to positive reviews from critics and became a box office success. The film revolves around the travel of Aji, a communist from Kerala who travels to the United States illegally via Latin America and the Mexican border to get to his girlfriend Sarah in time before she is forced to marry another person.
Saniya Iyappan is an Indian actress who works in Malayalam films and television shows. She is best known for her roles in the films Queen (2018) and Lucifer (2019).
Prathi Poovankozhi is a 2019 Indian Malayalam-language revenge thriller film directed by Rosshan Andrrews and written by Unni R. based on his story Sankadam. It stars Rosshan Andrrews, Manju Warrier, and Anusree in main roles. Central Pictures released the film in theaterson 20 December 2019. Boney Kapoor purchased the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada remake rights of the movie.
Kurup is a 2021 Indian Malayalam-language biographical crime thriller film based on fugitive Sukumara Kurup. Produced by Dulquer Salmaan and directed by Srinath Rajendran, it stars Dulquer Salmaan in the title role with an ensemble cast including Indrajith Sukumaran, Shine Tom Chacko, Sunny Wayne, Sobhita Dhulipala, Bharath, Tovino Thomas, Shivajith, Vijayaraghavan, Vijaykumar Prabhakaran, Saiju Kurup and Anupama Parameswaran.
Guns & Gulaabs is an Indian Hindi-language black comedy crime thriller television series on Netflix created and directed by Raj & DK. Produced under the banner D2R Films in collaboration with Netflix, the series stars Dulquer Salmaan, Rajkummar Rao, Adarsh Gourav, Goutam Sharma, Gourav Sharma, Sanchay Goswami and Gulshan Devaiah.
King of Kotha is a 2023 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Abhilash Joshiy in his directorial debut. Jointly produced by Wayfarer Films and Zee Studios, the film stars an ensemble cast of Dulquer Salmaan, Shabeer Kallarakkal, Prasanna, Gokul Suresh, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Nyla Usha, Shammi Thilakan, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sajitha Madathil, Shanthi Krishna, Saran Shakthi and Anikha Surendran. The cinematography and editing were handled by Nimish Ravi and Shyam Sasidharan, while the music was composed by Jakes Bejoy and Shaan Rahman.
Saturday Night is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-drama film directed by Rosshan Andrrews and written by Naveen Bhaskar. It stars Nivin Pauly, Aju Varghese, Siju Wilson, and Saiju Kurup. The music was composed by Jakes Bejoy. The plot explores the relationship between four friends.
The 45th Kerala Film Critics Association Awards, honouring the best Malayalam films released in 2021, were announced in October 2022.
Deva is an upcoming Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Rosshan Andrrews and written by the duo Bobby–Sanjay, marking their debuts in Hindi cinema. The film stars Shahid Kapoor and Pooja Hegde. It is produced by Zee Studios and Roy Kapur Films.