1989 an iconic year in Mammookka's career as it led to his maiden National award & also landed him with his fourth State award. Among the movies that made him worthy for the latter honour was Joshi's "Mahayanam" which was bank rolled by C T Rajan. Despite the critical acclaim, the movie incurred losses at the box office which put Rajan in financial crisis. However, more than three decades later his sons, Roby & Rony collaborated with the legend in "Kannur Squad" & it would be fair to say that they have a winner in their hands.
Kannur Squad as the team was known was formed by Kannur SP Krishnalal (Vijayaraghavan) and comprised of ASI George Martin (Mammookka), CPOs Jose (Azees Nedumangad), Jayan (Rony David) & Shafi (Shabareesh). The team had already created a credible name for themselves over the years with their investigation skills and efficiency. It was at this juncture that Kasaragod SP Cholan (Kishore) requests for their help to nab the culprits behind the dacoity and murder of an affluent politician, Abdul Wahab (Manoj K U). However, due to the politically sensitive nature of the issue there was pressure to wrap up the case in ten days not to mention the tensions that brewed within the team.
Roby Varghese Raj is a relatively known cinematographer having worked in projects like "Puthiya Niyamam", "Eesho", etc. This is his directorial debut in which he joined with his brother, Rony & Muhammed Shafi who had penned the script. As many of you would be aware, there is an actual team called 'Kannur Squad' which was formed by the former Kannur SP Sreejith & the events captured in the movie was basically two cases that they had handled. It is essentially a police procedural drama but they have been sensible enough to introduce cinematic elements to it making sure that they didn't go overboard with it. In terms of the story template, it is similar to Rajeev Ravi's "Kuttavum Shikshayum" & Vinoth's "Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru"; but still manages to have an identity of its own with its engaging screenplay. A prime example is the way that they managed to create an emotional connect with the Tata Sumo, the fifth member of the squad. Even the technical aspects were well executed be it Muhammed Rahil's cinematography, Praveen Prabhakar's editing & the exceptional sound track of Sushin Shyam which elevated the impact of many of the sequences (loved the intro track).
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| The real Kannur squad |
On the performance front, there is nothing much to say about the veteran legend as he was spot on with his performance & still manages to make it distinct from the innumerable police officers he portrayed in the past. Just like Mammookka had mentioned in the promotions, Azees has done an impressive job & will in all probability get more meaty roles just like how Kalabhavan Shajon's career zoomed off after "Drishyam". Among the four, Rony was the one who had more of a backstory & he has done his part aptly along with Shabareesh. Whenever Arjun Radhakrishnan has appeared in a movie, I have always found him do utmost justice to his part & over here as well, he was impressive in bringing out the menacing feel to his character. As for the rest of the cast, Kishore, Vijayaraghavan, Sarath Sabha, the North Indian constable (not sure of the name) etc. did justice to their roles.
Verdict: Mammootty Kampany continues to be associated with quality script & "Kannur Squad" is the latest addition to it. Kudos to the legend who continues to awe us with his eye for talent as yet another director makes his entry into the industry & also for his own performances. In short, don't miss it!!!
Rating: 3.75/5
Regards...Ben
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