Kerala’s rising star Roshan Mathew has celebrated good success with Amazon’s critically acclaimed elephant ivory trafficking series, Poacher. Now, he is back with another top Malayalam cop action drama, Ronth (Patrol), by seasoned director Shahi Kabir, famous for curating gritty police flicks. Let’s see if this duo magic works or is a lost opportunity.
The Reality of Patrol Duty
The young and hardworking low-ranked police officer “Dinanath”, aka Roshan Mathew, gets paired up with older, arrogant senior Yohannan. The duo gets scheduled for night patrolling, but their deeply opposing perspectives towards things and approaches on policing lead a large clashes and immense work hatred for each other.
As the primary theme continues, their regular night patrol on Christmas turns into dark nightmares. Their night goes with several calls over domestic violence and resolving a drunkard causing disturbance. But, central story starts when they receive a frantic call about a missing woman. With limited time to find her, they race towards public crowded areas and localities enquiring for witnesses, but soon the case turns personal, raising clashes on duty to emotions. Will they solve the case before she dies?
Vibes: The Unglamorous Cop Drama
Ronth is shot like how old-school Malayalam films are known for local, but with strong content. As the film moves, the director also sheds light on both the duo’s issues, PTSD, or less empathy due to their long experience in handling such cases. They, too, struggle, but as cops, the film stands strong in building pressure for the coming climax. Indeed, it becomes easy to guess the culprit by all the hints dropped in the second half. But that’s where you are missing the whole point. The film is built on realism and friction, which needs to be applauded, not all the loopholes. The deglamour and shadowy contrasts shine “Ronth‘ from average to good film
Crafting Characters
Choosing Dilesh Pothan for such a demanding role is custom-made for him. He aced the characters as an overbearing veteran cop. His action scenes were shot good. While Roshan Mathew is more of a vulnerable and down-to-earth personality who adds layers to the film’s suspense. While the whole movie revolves around their dynamics, other supporting characters of Ronth, like Salomi, aka Lakshmi Menon, the wife of Yohannan, come with a brief but strong arc, revealing their broken emotions because of the job.
Cinematography and Visuals
The main gripping point of “Ronth‘ is the beautiful camerawork. Manesh Madhavan did an amazing job in capturing the essence of tension, challenges, and circumstances of the stressful job. Special shoutout to the aerial shots that cover the natural forestry of the rural Kerala and shadowy quarries that elevate the movie’s presence.
Of course, the story surrounds night patrol duties, so a major part of the film runs on dark windows. However, the visuals, editing are handled well. We can connect with the character’s sympathy and fast moments. Even though it’s not a horror film, the immense suspense makes it haunting, and viewers will be glued to the screens till the end.
Music and Sound Design
The movie has no songs, and is much dependent on the sound design and special effects to highlight the suspense of “Ronth”. Anil Johnson managed to pull off and enrich the excellent visuals with his subtle yet loud tones, which create more and more pressure.
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Final Verdict
Ronth has been released on 13th June, last Friday, targeting weekend holidays, and this trick worked in their favor. The film received positive reviews from critics, and viewers are loving the duo drama to the core. Although it gets predictable & overly aggressive by climax, watching such gut-punching films with theatre sound effects is an experience. So, do give it a try while it’s rolling the big screens and enjoy.
IMDb: 8.1/10 Times Of India: 3.5/5 Mysslash Ratings: 4.2/5
Written by: Meghana Pinninti