Kannur Squad (2023) Explained: Cinematographer Roby Varghese Raj’s directorial debut, Kannur Squad (2023), is a meticulously constructed police procedural spearheaded by the master performer and star actor Mammooty. The screenplay is written by Muhammad Shafi and actor Rony David Raj and produced by Mammootty Kampany. The narrative is said to be inspired by the real-life murder of a Kasaragod industrialist and an actual investigating unit of indefatigable Kerala police officers who solved crimes in and out of their state.
At the outset, Kannur Squad brings to mind the recent Malayalam and Tamil investigative thrillers Kuttavum Shikshayum (2022) and Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru (2017), respectively. All three films take a relatively realistic approach to the Indian police procedural narrative. Moreover, these films are strengthened by their hyper-detailed narrative, touching the myriad struggles faced by the cops to capture the elusive and intelligent culprits while navigating the limitations set by the rigid bureaucratic machinery. Now, let’s delve into the plot details and ending of Kannur Squad (2023). Spoilers Ahead!
Kannur Squad (2023) Movie Plot Explained:
A Search in the Woods
The film opens in 2015. It’s early in the morning, and a lone tea shop in the forest area is open, as Ilayaraja’s “Kalyana Thaen Nila’ song is playing on the radio (a nod to this film’s superstar – the song is from his popular 1990 Tamil thriller ‘Mounam Sammadham’). A Tata Sumo is parked near the tea shop. The four undercover officers inside the vehicle are waiting for someone. Once the man arrives, they follow him deep into the deep forest to a secluded small cabin. The officers are there to catch a criminal hiding in the place. But before they get to him, he is made aware of their presence and hurls a bomb at them.
The officers are slightly injured. Despite the ensuing chaos, the chief investigating officer of the squad, ASI George Martin (Mammootty), goes after the criminal who runs into the woods. Before long, George hears the culprit screaming in terror. The man has stumbled upon a rapidly decomposing body hanging from the tree. The officers hand over the criminal to the local police station. When George talks about the dead body in the woods, the local inspector rules it as a distraught tribal man’s suicide and scoffs at the idea of investigating the case further.
Who Is the Dead Man? Is it a Murder or Suicide?
It is 2017, and George is seen recounting the importance of his squad to a journalist. His team comprises Jayan (Rony David), Jose Skaria (Azees Nedumangad), and Muhammed Shafi (Shabareesh Varma). George particularly recalls the case of alleged suicide in the forest. The corpse is of a middle-aged man with a metal rod in his leg. George’s instincts tell him that the dead man might not be a tribal since they won’t be able to afford or prefer such surgeries. A thorough examination of nearby town’s hospital records – matching with the details they know – reveals the dead guy’s identity. His name was Murugan, and he worked as a lorry driver. And his wife and little daughter have left the town for Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
Kannur Squad reaches Coimbatore, and George has a fair idea about what led to the lorry driver’s murder. After finding out Murugan’s wife, the woman confesses to her husband’s murder. Hers is a tale of unspeakable abuse, which eventually pushed her to seek a life without her husband. Though they sympathize with the woman’s plight, the officers are bound to their duty as a cop. George says the woman is imprisoned, and her daughter is sent to a child center. This murder case sets the stage for the narrative, as we understand their impeccable investigation style and commitment to the job, although in this case, the lines categorizing the perpetrator and victim are blurred. As Mammootty’s George says to the reporter, they are not just human beings but also cops.
A Setback and a High Stakes Homicide
Soon, the Kannur squad is adversely impacted by the bribery case against Jayan. Jayan is accused of accepting money from the sand mining mafia. George’s superiors are sure of the charge’s validity and temporarily halt the team’s operations. Jose is particularly angry at Jayan since the case against him questions the other team members’ honesty and integrity. Meanwhile, a Kasaragod politician, Abdul Wahab, is brutally murdered, which the opposite political factions consider to be politically motivated. The local police perceive the case as a robbery gone wrong, but they aren’t able to zero in on any suspects. The subsequent media frenzy calls out the law and order’s inefficiency.
Kasaragod’s District Police Chief, Manu Needhi Cholan (Kishore), eventually assigns the case to the Kannur Squad. George agrees to take the case but wants Jayan on his team. Mr. Cholan approves George’s demand. The Kannur squad is given ten days to catch the murderers and wrap up the case. Initial investigation reveals that the killers had prior knowledge of the family’s car driver arriving at 4 a.m. to go to the airport. Abdul Wahab’s injured son, Ramzan, states that’s why he didn’t find it odd that someone was ringing the bell early in the morning. The intruders were masked, no fingerprints were left, the CCTV harddisks were taken, they fluently spoke in Hindi, and Abdul Wahab was killed in the upstairs bedroom, where there is a safe. The only vital evidence is the blood-mixed urine sample of one of the intruders.
How did the Kannur Squad Close in on the Suspects?
George first initiates the call dump analysis. Since every crime involves a cell phone nowadays, the Kannur squad, with the help of the cyber crime department, analyzes records of callers within the tower range where the crime has occurred. One crucial criterion is to filter the calls repeatedly made between two numbers that are under two minutes. George’s theory is that the perpetrators’ communication in such scenarios would be precise and short. The laborious call dump analysis bears fruit, as by the end of the investigation’s second day, they focus on the sim provided under suspicious circumstances to a Bengali migrant worker.
Further investigation shows that the sim provider simply used the migrant worker’s name but actually gave it to his friend, Riyas. After rounding up Riyas, they give him the good cop-bad cop treatment to make him confess. It’s also confirmed that the blood-urine sample found at Abdul Wahab’s house is from kidney stone-afflicted Riyas. Riyas happens to be a family friend of the murdered politician, Abdul Wahab. He was called to Abdul’s home to repair the malfunctioning CCTV. After finishing the repair work, Riyas accidentally sees through the CCTV camera of Abdul handling a large suitcase full of money in his room.
Riyas is instantly reminded of his Qatar friend Ameer’s (Arjun Radhakrishnan) proposition. Ameer and his friend (Dhruvan) want to attain crores by any means to start a business, and Riyas might have a chance to be their partner. Later, Riyas provides more details to Ameer about Abdul Wahab’s house. He attends their family function and fortuitously learns about the driver, arriving early in the morning to reach the airport. Ameer also brings in two Hindi-speaking guys, Hathooda (Resh Lamba) and Badoosha (Nalneesh Neel), to aid them in their crime.
Why Did The Criminals Kill Abdul Wahab?
On the day of the crime, the five men enter Abdul’s home without much difficulty. They tie up the son, daughter, and mother and take Abdul to open the safe upstairs. But Ameer only finds five lakhs and some jewelry. Abdul says there’s no more money in the house despite getting thrashed. Riyas remained downstairs and was in pain due to kidney stone. When he goes upstairs, he finds an infuriated Ameer and the bloody corpse of Abdul. Riyas states since the robbery didn’t go as planned, Ameer and the other three men immediately left the state, and he doesn’t know where they went. Since Ameer’s family lives in Kerala, further background inquiry reveals that they are in Mumbai, waiting for the chance to leave the country.
Later, George visits Abdul’s traumatized daughter at the hospital to take her statement since she was in the same room when her dad was killed. The daughter painfully recounts that Ameer threatened Abdul by sexually assaulting her in front of him. The young woman’s agony provides more intensity to George’s mission.
The Cat and Mouse Game Begins
Subsequently, the Kannur Squad’s investigation phase paves the way to the chasing phase. The team depends on their fifth member – Tata Sumo – to reach Mumbai. Once the officers arrive at the metropolitan city, based on the criminals’ cell phone signal, they visit all phone booths in a particular locality. Ultimately, they stumble upon one place where Ameer has contacted a fellow Malayali named Shiju, who lives in Mumbai.
By the time George’s team catches Shiju, it seems the criminals have left for Bhubaneswar, Orissa – 1,500 km from Mumbai. Fortunately, Shiju has been suspicious of Ameer and has noted down eight digits of a mobile number Ameer received (since Ameer was suddenly wary of Shiju’s presence, the last two digits couldn’t be stored. Subsequently, when SP Cholan hears the development and the squad’s request to take a flight, he matter-of-factly informs that officers of their grade are not given allowances to travel by plane. At the same time, George wonders whether the criminals are attempting to mislead them with the Orissa tip. A little more digging reveals a cell phone number – Ameer’s contact at Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh. The number also matches with the eight digits Shiju provided.
Kannur squad immediately sets off to Faizabad (1,400 km from Mumbai). With the help of a local police constable, Yogesh, they reach the village in Uttar Pradesh in the middle of the night. The cell phone belongs to a man named Pawan, and from the signal, they arrive at his doorstep. But the team’s plan to silently arrest Pawan misfires as the guy escapes and stirs up his whole village against the outsiders. An extended chase and fight sequence ensues, putting all five men’s lives in grave danger. In the end, despite injuries, they manage to abduct Pawan from the village.
Kannur Squad (2023) Movie Ending Explained:
What’s the Criminals’ Escape Route?
The smug and foul-mouthed Pawan is a buddy of Hathooda. The police officers torture Pawan to extract information about the four criminals’ whereabouts. He discloses that they will soon escape by taking a train from the nearby village, Payagpur. Pawan also mentions Ameer’s larger scheme to engage in the ivory trade in China. To set up the illegal ivory trafficking, they needed crores to build a network. Meanwhile, video footage of Jayan accepting a bribe is released to the media. Questions are raised about sending an allegedly corrupt team to catch the culprits in a high-stakes murder case. The pressure from the political sphere commands SP Cholan to call back the Kannur Squad.
Read More: Mathilukal and Vidheyan: How Mammootty Captures the Opposite Ends of Hyper-Masculinity with His Layered Performances
While traveling towards Payagpur, Jose receives a call from home informing him about Jayan’s video. Jose lets loose the rage he held in store for Jayan. George intervenes and stops the conflict from escalating. Jayan tearfully confesses his personal problems that led him to transgress and face the grim consequences. Once they openly address their emotions, they set out to the railway station. On the train, George finds Hathooda and Badoosha, and after some struggle, he arrests them. Jose and Muhammed, however, are asked to stay on the train to find the other two perpetrators.
George, Jayan, and Yogesh also enquire about the duo at Payagpur bus station. This divulges the information that one of the two guys has taken a bus to Babaganj, which is close to the Indo-Nepal border. In fact, the train’s final destination is also Babaganj. While fearing that the murderers will soon escape to Nepal, George receives a call from SP Cholan, who orders him to give up the case and return. An angry and world-weary George emphasizes the myriad struggles they encountered to reach this close to the criminals and refuses to back down.
Did Kannur Squad Arrest the Criminals?
George recklessly drives from Payagpur to catch the Babaganj bus that has just left the bus station. But there’s no respite for George and his team, as they can’t find the criminal on the bus. The guy seems to have got down from the bus a few stops back. Furthermore, constable Yogesh mentions the futility of searching for them in the dense forest area, even if they find where he got off. However, Hathooda, who is handcuffed to the backseat of Sumo, might know the exact location of the two still at-large culprits. George employs a smart tactic and springs up a shocking surprise on Hathooda to make him disclose the location.
They finally zero in on Ameer, who takes a shot at them, toppling their vehicle. This leads to another extended, if not a cathartic, fight sequence, where the callous Ameer receives some punches from Mammootty’s George. A team of forest officers arrive at the scene, and upon learning the reason for the Kerala Police’s mission, they help the injured men. Muhammed and Jose also reach the place without any harm. Jose somewhat reconciles with Jayan.
Recommended Read: Nalla Nilavulla Rathri (2023) Movie Review: A Survival Slasher That Is Essentially A Clash Between Nature and Men
SP Cholan and his fellow officers receive news about the Kannur squad’s success. Cholan doesn’t mind George’s outburst and perceives the squad as the minority in the police force, who give everything to see that justice is done. As a montage depicts the Kannur squad traveling back with the criminals, Cholan remarks that while most police officers see it only as a 9 to 5 job, only a few, like George and his team, truly uphold law and order. Furthermore, Cholan likens them to soldiers of ancient times, as the apathetic establishment pretty much takes credit like the kings. Though the statement lionizes the overworked police officers without stressing about reform in the all-important law enforcement, it at least comes across as a fitting tribute to this team of resolute police officers.
Final Thoughts:
Kannur Squad (2023) deftly balances between the procedural narrative and a star-vehicle narrative. While the movie’s later half could have been more crisp by cutting down the drawn-out fight sequences, I don’t have any complaints about the 72-year-old Mammootty still remaining fit enough to effortlessly deliver the mass moments or fan service. Of course, the star is also a legendary performer; hence, his usual low-key acting style perfectly works here. Moreover, the cinematic liberties taken with the action sequences don’t impact the thrills of the procedural. The script by Rony David and Shafi is primarily grounded in reality and shows great attention to detail. There are no major twists, but witnessing how the Kannur squad obliterates each obstacle (with brains and brawns) to succeed in their mission is thoroughly gripping.
![[Watch] Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman gets its First Teaser](https://www.highonfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/The-Irishman-High-on-FIlms.jpg)
![The Great Movement [2021]: ‘Venice’ Review – A character study of the ignored individuals of a city](https://www.highonfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/The-Great-Movement-El-Gran-Movimiento-1-768x432.jpeg)