Officer On Duty movie review: Kunchacko Boban shines in a thriller that intrigues but never truly impresses

Post Credits Scene | Marco: Unni Mukundan’s reprehensible film ruins Malayalam cinema’s reputation singlehandedly; Bollywood isn’t the only industry learning all the wrong lessons

After being demoted from DySP to CI for assaulting an IPS officer, the tough and blunt Harishankar is transferred to the Kochi City police station, where he comes across a case involving a middle-aged man (Jagadish) accused of trying to mortgage a fake gold chain at a jewellery store. However, during the probe, Harishankar discovers that the man was unaware the chain, which belonged to his daughter, was counterfeit, leading him to suspect that she might be involved. What starts as a routine inquiry soon takes a dark turn when Harishankar realises that the chain was stolen from the minor girl by her assaulters. Pressuring her to file a complaint — warning that if she doesn’t, her father will be in trouble for attempting to mortgage fake gold — he unintentionally drives the girl to take her own life by hanging, just as his own daughter Nila (Meenakshi Anoop) once did after a tragedy struck her life. This incident reopens deep-seated trauma within Harishankar, pushing him into a breakdown and his anguish manifests in violent outbursts, which he directs at his wife (Priyamani) in front of their younger daughter, ultimately causing her to leave him. Overcome with guilt, he resolves to get to the bottom of the case, only to realise that the assault isn’t a stray incident and that a criminal network is behind all this.

While the film opens with a scene set in the past — one that, in hindsight, proves to be among the least consequential in the larger scheme of events — as Officer On Duty shifts to the present, it immediately piques curiosity, largely due to the unsettling atmosphere that Jithu Ashraf and composer Jakes Bejoy create. Notably, Kunchacko Boban is introduced without the usual grandeur reserved for a well-known actor. Instead, the movie immediately exposes his character’s lack of remorse and volatile nature by showing him kicking a woman, accused of chain snatching, in the stomach to confirm she isn’t pregnant. While this scene effectively conveys multiple aspects of his personality, it also works against the film to some extent as his extreme aggression makes it difficult to trust him as the narrative progresses, particularly given that the central case revolves around female victims. While his subsequent actions and mannerisms further highlight the behavioural grey in him, they ultimately distance one from fully believing in his decisions and judgments. Although writer Shahi Kabir attempts to justify his behaviour later on, the reasoning falls short of making him entirely convincing.

Watch Officer On Duty trailer here:

Further complicating the perception of Harishankar is the way his daughter’s tragic fate unfolds. She doesn’t take her own life because she was betrayed by a partner who recorded their intimate moments — only to leak them later — but rather due to her father’s brutal reaction. Despite being a senior police officer, Harishankar, upon discovering the video, storms into the house in a fit of rage, creating havoc and preparing to confront Nila violently. This ultimately pushes her to suicide and though the film later tries to reframe this in a more convenient light, thus ‘saving’ Harishankar of the blame, it’s almost impossible to empathise with him, as his actions consistently reveal his incompetence both as a father and as an officer. What salvages this flaw to some extent is Kunchacko Boban’s sharp performance, which conveys far more than what is explicitly written in the script.

One of the film’s biggest shortcomings is its inability to fully explore its emotional and dramatic moments. While the subject matter is undeniably serious and holds immense potential, Shahi Kabir’s writing only scratches the surface, leaving many key moments feeling half-cooked, unlike his work in his previous movies such as Joseph (2018) and Nayattu (2021). A particularly striking scene shows Harishankar experiencing a severe PTSD-induced panic attack after seeing the initially mentioned young victim’s body hanging from the ceiling, thus vividly highlighting his unresolved trauma. However, such powerful instances are few and far between in Officer On Duty and the film’s overall mediocrity in emotional execution isn’t fully redeemed by these isolated moments of brilliance.

Kunchacko Boban with Priyamani in Officer On Duty.

The film’s shortcomings are further exacerbated by the lack of depth in nearly every other character, particularly the women, who serve no purpose beyond being victims. Whether it’s Harishankar’s wife and daughters, his colleagues or the officers assisting in the investigation, no other character has well-defined arcs or meaningful substance and they exist merely to appear at various junctures, serving as devices to further his character development.

Even the antagonists in Officer On Duty — a group of six youths (among whom one appears only in flashback portions as he is dead) entangled in substance abuse and sustaining themselves through drug peddling, sextortion and other criminal activities — are underdeveloped, relying on familiar stereotypes of Bengaluru-based drug traffickers and sexual offenders. Their characterisation is further weakened by excessively exaggerated performances, particularly Vishak Nair’s portrayal of the gang leader. The film also takes the fridging trope to new extremes, as the gang’s motivations too are shown to stem from the sexual assault of two of its members by a police officer. This incident conveniently ties together the arcs of Boban and Jagadish’s daughters and the way it unfolds feels contrived and poorly executed, making it one of the film’s weaker narrative choices.

Kunchacko Boban with Jagadish in Officer On Duty.

Although Kunchacko Boban’s portrayal of the central character is largely impressive, he falters in dialogue delivery. One of his key limitations is the lack of flexibility in his voice, causing his lines to sound as if they are struggling to escape his throat. This issue persists in Officer On Duty as well, making many of his lines sound overly polished rather than naturally expressive.

While DOP Roby Varghese Raj effectively captures the film’s atmosphere, there are moments where his work feels excessive, particularly in scenes with overly dim lighting that comes across as artificial. This issue is further compounded by the rapid cuts in the action sequences, where editor Chaman Chakko — despite excelling in other parts of the film — struggles to maintain coherence and impact.

Officer On Duty movie cast: Kunchacko Boban, Priyamani, Jagadish, Vishak Nair
Officer On Duty movie director: Jithu Ashraf
Officer On Duty movie rating: 2 stars