Officer On Duty

''Officer on Duty'' is a 2025 Indian Malayalam-language crime action thriller film directed by Jithu Ashraf (in his directorial debut) and written by Shahi Kabir. It stars Kunchacko Boban and Priyamani with Vishak Nair and Jagadish.

The film was positively received by critics, with its performances (particularly by Kunchacko Boban, Jagadish and Vishak Nair), story, and music garnering praise and turned out to be commercial success. and emerged as the top grossing solo release of Chakochan surpassing '' Anjam Pathira'' (2020).

Plot

In Bangalore, Police Inspector Joseph Chembola of the Karnataka Police hangs himself in his house after leaving a suicide note orchestrated by a group of drug addicts led by Christy Savio.

Eight months later, in Kerala, Harishankar alias Hari is a hot-headed and impulsive officer who was recently demoted from his DYSP rank to CI after assaulting his superior officer by accident. Hari is subsequently assigned as the SHO of the Aluva police station. He receives a complaint about a KSRTC conductor named Chandrababu attempting to mortgage an imitation gold chain. This seemingly minor case leads him to investigate a series of gruesome crimes, which are revealed to be connected to his own past personal tragedy.

Hari suffers from PTSD following the suicide of his elder daughter, Nila, which causes him to express his trauma violently, particularly toward his wife, Geetha. One day, Chandrababu reports to the police station that his gold chain was replaced with fake gold when he attempted to pawn it for his wife's surgery. Upon investigation, Hari discovers that Chandrababu’s daughter had switched the chain herself after being sexually exploited by an unknown perpetrator. Hari attempts to file a POCSO case, but before he can proceed, the girl commits suicide by hanging. Chandrababu blames Hari for his rude behavior and his daughter's death. Witnessing her death triggers Hari’s buried trauma, revealing that Nila had also been sexually exploited in the same way as Chandrababu's daughter. In a fit of rage, Hari kills a drug addict named Shyam in custody after discovering a sex tape of Nila on his laptop. Overcome with grief, Hari attempts to confront Nila, but she had already hung herself. The trauma causes him to suffer amnesia regarding the incident.

In the present, Christy and his gang go to ASI Thomas, a recently released policeman who had taken the blame for Shyam’s custodial death. Thomas had done so in an attempt to protect Hari since his own daughter had also been exploited by Shyam. To avenge Shyam's death, Christy and his gang murder Thomas and his wife, but before dying, Thomas’ wife reveals to them that Hari was the one who actually killed Shyam. Meanwhile, Hari investigates and tracks down Anna, a member of Christy’s gang, following her to Bangalore. A chase ensues, and Anna is fatally struck by a truck, killing her on the spot. Later, Christy and his gang attempt to ambush Hari in the mortuary, but he successfully fends them off.

As the investigation unfolds, Hari discovers that Joseph had once arrested Shyam, Celine, Anna, after catching them for using drugs and slapping a girl's mother on a bus where Chandrababu was the conductor. While in custody, Joseph raped both Anna and Celine, leading Christy’s gang to seek revenge on those responsible. Their revenge plan involved exploiting the women closest to those who contributed to their arrest. They began by targeting Joseph’s daughter, Chandrababu’s daughter, and also Nila. It is revealed that Geetha and Nila were the mother and daughter, who had been slapped by them and Geetha was the one who initially confronted the gang, making them a target.

Christy stabs Chandrababu to death and eventually tracks down Geetha and her younger daughter, Minnu, at her father’s farmhouse. Christy and his gang attempts to kill them, but Geetha’s father, a former soldier, fights back, however, he too is ultimately killed by Christy. Geetha and Minnu try to escape from them but Christy follows them alone and he stabs Geetha. Minnu escapes from him but he follows her and reaches a small building in the woods. His gang also arrives and before they can make a move, Hari arrives and a final showdown ensues where he brutally beats them. He nearly kills Christy for what he did to his and Chandrababu's family.

A few months later, Hari got back to his normal life and began to focus more on his family. Meanwhile, Christy and his gang are released on bail and plan their next attempt to kill Hari. However, Hari anticipates their move and laces their drugs with poison, ultimately killing them.

Cast

Production

Development

Kunchako Boban's untitled film was announced on 27 April 2024. Priyamani will be starring as the leading lady. The film marks the directorial debut of Jithu Ashraf, who previously served as an assistant director on films including '' Action Hero Biju'', '' Udaharanam Sujatha'', and '' Ela Veezha Poonchira'' and noted for his acting performances in ''Nayattu'' and ''Iratta.'' It is produced by Martin Prakkat Films and Siby Chavara and Ranjith Nair's The Green Room. The film is scripted by Shahi Kabir. Jithu and Shahi were earlier supposed to work on a project titled ''Aaravam'', which was reportedly based on the snake boat race in Kerala and lives of the boat race community with Tovino Thomas, but it got dropped due to some unknown reasons and instead they went on with a different project. It has Roby Varghese Raj as the cinematographer, Jakes Bejoy as the music director and Chaman Chakko as the editor. The film was titled "Officer on Duty" which was announced on November 2, 2024.

Filming and casting

The principal photography commenced with a puja ceremony held at Lions Community Hall , Ernakulam on 27 April 2024. Jagadish, Manoj KU, Srikanth Murali, Unni Lalu, Jay Kurup, Vysakh Shankar, Ramzan, Vishnu G Nair, Anunath, Laiyam Mamman, Aishwarya and Amit Eapan will also be seen in pivotal roles in the film. In August 2024, it was reported that Vishak Nair was selected to play the villain role in the film.

Music

The soundtrack was composed by Jakes Bejoy.

Release

''Officer on Duty'' was released theatrically on 20 February 2025. The post theatrical digital streaming rights of the film was acquired by Netflix. The film started streaming from 20 March 2025.

Reception

Critical reception

Sajin Shrijith of ''The Week'' rated the film four out of five stars and noted that "After ''Joseph'' and '' Nayattu'', writer Shahi Kabir delivers another haunting investigative thriller, but this time with the slight trappings of a mass entertainer — a good one at that!" Rohit Panikker of ''Times Now'' gave the film three-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote, "''Officer On Duty'' is a well-crafted investigative thriller that tries to be different but still relies on quite a lot of the genre's established templates. The film is worth a watch for its technical superiority, gripping performances, and a tight screenplay that offers an interesting experience even though it may not be something entirely new."

Anjana George of ''The Times of India'' gave it three out of five stars and wrote, "While ''Officer on Duty'' is a gripping, well-crafted thriller that keeps viewers on edge, it also serves as a stark reminder of how crime films continue to exploit the suffering of women for shock value." Vignesh Madhu of ''The New Indian Express'' gave it three out of five stars and wrote, "''Officer on Duty'' could have been among the riveting cop thrillers in recent times, if not for the 'commercial compromises' it settles for."

Anandu Suresh of ''The Indian Express'' gave it two out of five stars and stated that "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". Cris of ''The News Minute'' wrote, "Where the script lacks is in expanding it into a package and writing the 'bad' characters. As soon as the 'villain' gang appears on screen, you realise the film has gone back decades, bringing alive forgotten stereotypes of wrongful youngsters, by the way they look, behave and indulge in vices."

S. R. Praveen of ''The Hindu'' wrote, "With ''Officer On Duty'', Shahi Kabir conjures up yet another gripping police tale which works despite faltering at some points." Swathi P. Ajith of '' Onmanorama'' wrote, "The movie doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it delivers a solid, well-packaged thriller. It doesn't go overboard and keeps things as grounded as possible. For those who enjoy a good investigative drama, 'Officer on Duty' is definitely worth a watch on the big screen."

Box office

On its first day the film grossed ₹2.60 crore globally and ₹1.25 crore in Kerala. In 2 days, it grossed around ₹6 crore at the worldwide box office. In its first four-day opening weekend it grossed ₹10.65 crore in India out of which ₹9.15 crore came from home state and ₹1.50 crore from ROI and ₹10 crore from overseas, to a worldwide gross of ₹20 crore.

As of 2 March 2025, the film grossed 41 crore worldwide with Kerala standing at ₹20.75 crore. On 11 March 2025 the film's worldwide gross reached 50 crore. In 21 days, the film grossed ₹25.95 crore from Kerala. In its final run, it grossed ₹29.75 crore from Kerala, ₹4 crore from other states and ₹20.5 crore from overseas to a worldwide gross of ₹ 54.25 crore.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title

2020s Malayalam-language films
Indian crime thriller films
Films set in Bengaluru
Films set in Kochi
Films shot in Kochi
Fictional portrayals of the Kerala Police
Films shot in Bengaluru
2020s police procedural films
Indian police films
Indian thriller films