‘Salute on Sony Liv’: Cop thriller Starring Dulquer Salmaan Lauded By Viewers

Salute on Sony Liv: Dulquer Salmaan’s Salute was recently released on the OTT platform Sony Liv and has been making buzz since then. The Roshan Andrrews directorial was released in five languages—Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. Produced by Wayfarer Films, Dulquer’s production house, the film also stars Diana Penty, Manoj K Jayan in key roles. This film marks Penty’s debut in the Malayalam cinema industry.

Written by Bobby-Sanjay, Salute is a thriller mystery drama that revolves around Sub Inspector Aravind Karunakaran (Dulquer) who is part of an investigation that frames an innocent man Murali for a crime he never committed. When the guilt from his actions begins to bother him, Aravind attempts to reopen the case and deliver Murali justice. Through the 143-minute running time, the film attempts to deconstruct the ‘heroic’ narrative around the police force; it shows the unethical and ugly side of it.

The Hey Sinamika actor’s announcement of releasing the film on the OTT platform had created an uproar amongst the film exhibitors in Kerala which also led to Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK) banning his films. The decision of releasing it exclusively on Sony Liv was taken after the film’s theatrical release was postponed due to the third wave of the pandemic.

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If Twitter timelines are any proof, Dulquer has left the viewers in a split with his performance in the latest film. It is no surprise that the film has received over 7 stars on the popular cinema aggregator website IMDb.

Labelling it as a “neat and clean slow-burn thriller” a Twitter user named Adithya Sreekumar lauded the filmmakers. “Very clever writing and superbly performed by all, especially Dulquer Salmaan. A good weekend watch,” he further wrote.

Another user wrote, “An intensifying crime drama from the part of Bobby-Sanjay and Rosshan Andrrews. Apart from several family scenes movie stood above average. The arc and mystery development for the villain felt the best. Yes, we love this Bobby-Sanjay.”

“Just completed watching Salute. It's a wonderfully done absorbing crime drama about police procedurals. Although few things fell easily into place, loved the way it ended,” wrote another user Divyasri.

Meanwhile, Sasi Kiran, a Twitter user commented that the film could have used crisp editing. “There aren't any songs but Background Score deserves special mention,” he added. Jakes Bejoy has composed music for the thriller.