Kannur Squad

Kannur Squad marks the directorial debut of Roby Varghese Raj, a former cinematographer, produced by lead actor Mammootty. The film draws on a real crime investigation unit called the Kannur Squad, active from roughly 2007 to 2017 with nine real members, formed by then district police chief ADGP S. Sreejith. The screenwriters met with the real officers to research the story, which originated from a news feature in a Malayalam newspaper; the murder investigation dramatized in the film is inspired by a real Kasaragod industrialist's murder case. Shot between December 27, 2022 and April 6, 2023, the film opened on September 28, 2023, and grossed approximately 1 billion rupees worldwide according to most sources, reportedly becoming Mammootty's first film to cross that mark. After release, the real squad members watched the film, with Sreejith saying it made the Kerala Police proud. Who it's for: anyone curious about a Malayalam police action film written after interviews with the real investigation unit it dramatizes, later watched and endorsed by that same unit. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a purely fictional police story, since this is grounded in a real case and a real team.