Salute (2022 Indian film)

For the 2022 Taiwanese film, see Salute (2022 Taiwanese film).

Salute
Official release poster
Directed by	Rosshan Andrrews
Written by	Bobby-Sanjay
Produced by	Dulquer Salmaan
Starring	Dulquer Salmaan Manoj K. Jayan Diana Penty Lakshmi Gopalaswamy Saniya Iyappan
Cinematography	Aslam K. Purayil
Edited by	A. Sreekar Prasad
Music by	Jakes Bejoy
Production company	Wayfarer Films
Distributed by	SonyLIV
Release date	17 March 2022 (2022-03-17)
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.

Plot

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.

Cast

• Dulquer Salmaan as S.I. Aravind Karunakaran
• Manoj K. Jayan as Dy.S.P. Ajith Karunakaran, Aravind's elder brother
• Diana Penty as Dia, Arvind's girlfriend
• Lakshmi Gopalaswamy as Ajith's wife
• Saniya Iyappan as Malavika
• Saikumar as Augustine Thomas
• Indrans as home guard
• Binu Pappu as S.I. Pramod Peter
• Vinod Sagar as Murali T. S.
• Alencier Ley Lopez as Marar
• Sudheer Karamana as Chandran Pillai
• Boban Alummoodan as Mahesh
• Shaheen Siddique as S.I. Mahesh. R
• Ramu as I. G. Sam Eapan Koshy
• Rajesh Sharma as Thampi
• Abhiram as A.S.I. Rajith
• Irshad as Royce
• Ganapathi S Poduval as Thampi's son
• Maala Parvathi as Women's Commission staff
• Nitin Thomas as Naveen
• Monisha Arshak as Jhansi
• Balan Parakkal as Mujeeb
• Sreeja Ajith as Aravind's sister

Production

Development

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]

Filming

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]

Release

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]

Legal Issues

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]

Reception

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]

References

1. "Salute". British Board of Film Classification . Retrieved 11 January 2022.
2. "Dulquer Salmaan transforms into a cop in Salute first look; Malayalam action flick to also star Diana Penty". Firstpost. 9 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
3. "Dulquer presents first look poster from upcoming film 'Salute'". The News Minute. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
4. Barretto, Jennifer (8 March 2021). "South Indian actor Dulquer Salmaan shares first look of 'Salute'". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
5. "Dulquer Salmaan, Diana Penty starrer Salute first look out, actor aces cop avatar". www.indiatvnews.com. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
6. Jha, Lata (13 March 2022). "SonyLIV to premiere Dulquer Salmaan's 'Salute'". Mint. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
7. "Father-son duo Mammootty, Dulquer head to OTT with 'Salute' and 'Puzhu'". The New Indian Express . Retrieved 7 September 2022.
8. "Dulquer Salmaan's 'Salute' To Have A Digital Release". Outlook India . 7 March 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
9. "'ഇനി ദുല്ഖറിനൊപ്പമുള്ള ത്രില്ലര്'; മുംബൈ പൊലീസിന്റെ ഏഴാം വാര്ഷികത്തില് റോഷന് ആന്ഡ്രൂസ്". Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd (in Malayalam). Retrieved 22 March 2021.
10. "റോഷന് ആന്ഡ്രൂസും ദുല്ഖറും ഒന്നിക്കുന്നു; നായികയാകാൻ ഡയാന പെന്റി". Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd (in Malayalam). Retrieved 21 March 2021.
11. "Diana Penty joins Dulquer Salmaan-Rosshan Andrrews film; the diva says she is excited to make her debut in Malayalam - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
12. "ഒരു വർഷത്തെ കാത്തിരിപ്പിനു ശേഷം വീണ്ടും ക്യാമറയുടെ മുന്നിലേക്ക്; ദുൽഖർ ചിത്രത്തിൽ മനോജ്.കെ.ജയനും". Mathrubhumi. 13 February 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
13. Hazra, Priya (9 February 2021). "Diana Penty To Star Alongside Dulquer Salmaan In Her Malayalam Film Debut" . Retrieved 10 October 2022.
14. "Salute trailer: Dulquer Salmaan promises a gripping investigative thriller". The Indian Express . 7 March 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
15. Chowdhury, Rishity Roy (11 January 2022). "Dulquer Salmaan's Salute postponed due to Spike in Covid-19, Omicron cases". India Today. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
16. "FEUOK bans Dulquer Salmaan movies". The Indian Express. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
17. Soman, Deepa (31 March 2022). "FEUOK withdraws ban on Dulquer Salmaan". The Times of India . Retrieved 10 October 2022.
18. "Salute movie review: Dulquer Salmaan takes on an unconventional police drama". Firstpost. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
19. Janani K. "Salute Movie Review: Dulquer Salmaan's riveting cop drama failed to replete with new ideas". India Today . Retrieved 10 October 2022.
20. Goutham VS (18 March 2022). "Salute movie review: Dulquer Salmaan shines in absorbing investigative drama". The Indian Express. Retrieved 10 October 2022.

External links

• Salute at IMDb