Kannur Squad – My Flash Review!

The title Kannur Squad sounds like a story of some crack covert team from Kerala but out on some mission of National and International consequence. This film is indeed about a crack team but from the Police that operated in real in Kannur to investigate and crack down on the rising crimes in North Kerala a couple of decades ago. Shorn of heroism and the exaggerated image of the Police that we are used to seeing in Singham-type movies, Kannur Squad paints a rather real and matter-of-fact picture of how crimes get investigated in the real world.

The Kannur Squad comprising four not so high ranked police constables headed by an ASI (Assistant Sub Inspector) goes about investigating crimes meticulously that gets assigned to it routinely. The only stand-out features we see in the squad compared to normal police are hard work, commitment and an elevated sense of self-courage. The film follows the team’s trial in cracking a murder case that goes beyond Kerala and almost takes us through a Bharat Dharshan. In the process, the tribulations the team members undergo, the language and cultural barriers they have to overcome when they face situations in other states, the internal pulls, pressures and interferences they have to put up with and finally the lack of resources they have to battle with, are showcased very nicely and realistically while keeping us engaged all through the crime investigation. As the squad does this arduous road trip Criss-crossing states, we get to the see first hand the improvement in the highways infrastructure even in reral pockets of India!

Veteran actor Mammootty who is the ASI heading the squad, is meticulous in grasping the right meter for the character and performing accordingly. In his career, he must have acted in myriad films in some cop avatar or other and I have seen many of those. Yet, in Kannur Squad, he turns up once again to give a very nuanced performance and showcase a different dimension, shunning any kind of flair and flamboyance in line with the Director’s vision for the film and character. This is commendable for a “Star” actor who is still on top of his game at the age of 72!  The Director though, gives in to a bit of temptation and brings in an element of “Mass” in some sequences like the one in a village called Tikri. Thankfully, those go with the flow of the film by and large and don’t stick out as odd.

As you watch the film, resemblances to two other good Malayalam films are difficult to escape. Mammooty’s own film Unda and Kuttavum Sakshiyum, a cross-state police procedural come to mind. All three films largely portray the helplessness and the dire circumstances in which police operate in a country like India.  Despite the repetitiveness of the theme, the film is largely engaging thanks to the evenly-paced screenplay and performances of the entire cast.

As the camera follows the squad from Kerala to the Indo-Nepal border cutting across many states in between, we get to witness the fine camera work of Muhammed Rahil.  Of course, I felt that the lighting in the initial portions was a bit dark and was too hard on the eyes to figure out what was going on. The background score by Sushin Shyam plays an able ally to the fast-paced proceedings on screen.

For a debut effort, Director Roby Varghese Raj is commendable and his command over the craft is visible throughout the film. There is a shooting scene towards the end of the film which I would reckon is among the best VFX/SFX scenes seen in Indian films of late for a low-budget film. The scene is not just “massy” but jolts you for a minute with its crude portrayal of violence.

Overall, Kannur Squad is a well-made film with a good mix of realism and mass moments. I would recommend it as a good one-time watch if you like the genre of crime investigation thrillers. It is streaming now on Hotstar.