Director: Roby Varghese Raj
Screenplay: Muhammed Shafi, Rony David Raj
Story: Muhammed Shafi
Cast: Mammootty, Vijayaraghavan, Kishore, Rony David, Shabareesh Varma, Azees Nedumangad
Music: Sushin Shyam
When it comes to writing about art, there is always this notion that the artist disappears from the screen, and the art presents itself in front of the audience. Many people argue that this occurrence in the presentation is the perfect showcase of creative manifestations. In “Kannur Squad,” Mammootty, donning a police officer’s role – a trade he has perfected over the last five decades with cult roles – plays hide and seek when it comes to the perception mentioned above.
Mammootty, who has been the epitome of acting in various roles such as the family head, elder brother, gang leader, don, upright police officer, bad cop, committed government official, ethical businessman, and the prodigal son who returns to take revenge, divides his performance as a police officer into two parts in this movie.
First, he portrays the calm and patient police officer who is ready to make compromises with the system in the first half of the movie. Second, he becomes the aggressive and rebellious police officer who is ready to sacrifice his life and career in pursuit of justice. In the first George (Mammootty’s character in Kannur Squad), he might remind the audience of his previous police avatar in “Unda,” while in the second George, you will see the legendary action hero police officers he manifested in the past.
However, the actor is always careful throughout the movie; he hasn”t succumbed to the pressure of “entertaining the fans” – a crime that many good actors and heroes commit once they reach a level of acceptability. His unquenchable thirst for art is visible in several scenes.
One thing that stands out throughout the whole movie is Mammootty’s ability to communicate well with emotions, whether it”s the angst that the 72-year-old actor embodies in his characters over the decades or his fabled expression of helplessness. In short, the disappearing of Mammootty the star in search of the nuances of George’s character is a storybook epithet in the movie.
George’s squad members, a carefully chosen cast, who go with the lead actor on an undercover mission to nab a criminal gang despite facing obstacles and challenges within and outside the law system, including Rony David (as Jayakumar P. Vasu), Shabareesh Varma (as Muhammed Shafi TA), and Azees Nedumangad (as Jose Skaria), make the best use of the opportunity they are given. The exceptional performances of the trio provide much room for George to evolve into the character and keep the momentum of the drama-thriller movie going.
As mentioned about Mammootty, Azeez, famous for prime time comedy skits in the Malayalam entertainment field, transforms himself into the character the moment he starts to travel with the script, and displays the subtleties of a police officer entangled in work-life complexities.
The police administration, the system, and even a vehicle in which the squad is traveling to Uttar Pradesh via Mumbai are prominent fixtures in the movie. At one point, George tells his squad that “the vehicle is also police,” and in the climax, as the camera pans to show the abandoned police vehicle, the audience will see the faces of the squad – lost and disappointed.
Mammootty, who is famous for working with newcomer directors, has given Roby Varghese Raj all the freedom to capture all the intricacies the veteran actor can produce in a complex role that traverses from police stations in Kerala to villages in Uttar Pradesh. In the process, the audience will see the actor shedding the trappings of his celebrated stardom.
The script remains calm like a typical drama movie in the first half and then explodes in the second half, especially when the squad embarks on an India-trotting journey to nab the criminal gang. The last time a Malayalam police movie ventured to North India in pursuit of criminals was in Rajeev Ravi”s “Kuttavum Shikshayum,” featuring Asif Ali. Back then, the encounter in a UP-Rajasthan border village was comparatively quiet, but in this movie, you will witness action-packed sequences where the squad, along with a UP Police constable, engages in a full-blown battle with and survives an entire village.
The performances of Mammootty, his squad, and Kishore as SP Manu Needhi Cholan, along with the direction and script, attempt to deliver a punch in this police story. However, they may not fully win your heart.
