Nivin Pauly's Action Hero Biju review: A salute to sincere police officers

IBtimes India Rating: 3.5

"Action Hero Biju" is a realistic story of a group of sincere police officers of Janamaithri police station in Kochi, Kerala, and the character played by Nivin Pauly -- SI Biju Paulose -- is not like the superhero police officers Bharathchandran IPS or inspector Balram that Malayalis are familiar with. He is a simple and sincere police officer who quit his job as a college professor to serve the society.

Unlike other action thrillers, in "Action Hero Biju," we don't see Nivin Pauly chasing a particular antagonist or a goon; instead he is seen chasing everyone who adhere to illegal activities. It includes thieves, chain snatchers, goons, killers, drug addicts, alcoholics and cheaters. He becomes a guardian angel for everyone who approach him for help and especially protects the poor people as well as women under the police station's jurisdiction.

The movie doesn't have a proper storyline and one of the major highlights of the "Action Hero Biju" is its fresh humour content scripted by Abrid Shine and Muhammad Shafeeq, along with the good performance of all the actors. Apart from Nivin, Prajod Kalabhavan, Joju George and Sohan Seenulal, other characters appear in cameo roles, even heroine Anu Emmanuel, who is seen talking over the phone with Nivin in most scenes (without many dialogues). The movie marked her debut as a heroine, but felt like she could have opted for another movie with more screen presence to make her entry to the industry.

All other actors have done justice to their characters and Suraj Venjaramoodu and Joju George need a special mention. Rony Davis, Saiju Kurup, Vinduja, Devi Ajith, Jude Anthony Joseph, Abhija Sivakala, Meghanathan, Major Ravi, Parvathy, Rohini, Malavika, Sajan Palluruthy and many other new faces, including Baby, Mary, Suresh and Manju Vani, have done a decent job with their flawless acting.

Jerry Amaldev's music and songs are the other highlights of the movie and the three songs fit well to the mood of the film's situations. Alex J Pulickal's cinematography and Manoj's editing are appreciable.

Drawbacks

This is the first time Nivin has played a police officer. Initially, his police avatar was not impressive as there were certain portions where it seemed he was not fit for the role, but later, the improvisations in his character were evident. Also, the kind of racist comments said by Nivin's character against the character Sherly could have been avoided. 

On the whole, "Action Hero Biju" is a good ride with the sincere police officer Biju Paulose through the day-to-day incidents of his life. Even without a proper storyline, the movie entertains us with its fresh humour and social messages. After all, a movie becomes worth watching when it doesn't bore the audience and "Action Hero Biju" does justice. Watch it without much expectations and don't compare it to superhero cop movies that you are familiar with.