Ronth movie review: Shahi Kabir’s grounded cop drama echoes Training Day with a conscience

Ronth story: CPO Dinnathan, a rookie, teams up with GSI Yohannan, a wily officer, for a night patrol. Through the various incidents they encounter during the night, the seasoned cop shows the younger and idealistic constable the tricks of the trade, while also asking him to rein in his enthusiasm. As they know more about themselves, their perceptions change till a case questions everything that they know about each other.

Ronth review: Be it Joseph, Nayattu, Ela Veezha Poonchira or even Officer on Duty, Shahi Kabir’s scripts rarely let you leave without a lingering sense of unease. This has to do with how he tries to humanise his cop protagonists, dragging the badge through the dirt of often grimy reality that the police have to face in their grind. His latest Ronth, which he has also directed, is no different.

It begins with a senior cop, GSI Yohannan (Dileesh Pothan), telling his superior not to frame him for a murder. Moments later, he’s seen leaving the station in the back of a police jeep - as a set of cops scrub bloodstains off the road behind him. It hints at the darkness to come and that queasy, unsettling feeling lingers throughout the movie as Shahi through the grounded frames of Manesh Madhavan, pulls the viewer into the uneasy ride with CPO Dinnathan and Yohannan as they navigate the calls on radio set - from domestic violence and threats of suicide to police escort and missing persons.

Amid all this, Shahi’s script makes enough room to sketch his protagonists - making both Dinnathan, a rookie who looks to abide by the book, and Yohannan, a jaded officer who knows how to manipulate the rules (and people), human. This is also the film’s greatest asset. Dinnathan, who has endured a personal trauma, is forced to face it time and again during his night patrol and that’s when Yohannan as well as other cops’ words of how a police officer should be gain context. You wouldn’t be far off, if you did think that this was Shahi Kabir’s version of Antoine Fuqua’s Training Day - only that this is more grounded and comes with a weight of conscience, making it all the more unsettling.

Also read: Roshan Mathew on Ronth: There was a beautiful creative collaboration on the set and that is because… 

Roshan Mathew’s portrayal as the rookie cop, who tempers down as the film goes on, is on point. Shahi also plays with how much he has learnt over the night, and if he could put it all in action when the duo are confronted with a grave situation. Roshan’s performance aids this narrative, where the stereotypical image of a cop is barely shown, and instead you are shown how they are human - with all the virtues and vices. Same goes for Dileesh, whose grizzly, hardened avatar gives way to a more understanding nature as the night progresses. It’s in the scenes where he reveals the personal tragedies he has been facing, that Dileesh adds another layer to the character.

Though the film has the duo encountering the various incidents that cops on night patrol face, none of them feel unnecessary. The reaction to each of them by the two protagonists also helps the audience give an idea of how much their characters learn with each passing hour. This might impede the viewing experience a bit, but it does help the character development. The ending, however, might not get the impact that the team would have hoped for. The tension builds to a high point, but the resolution arrives too soon. An argument can be made on the other character’s fate, but it feels the maker missed a trick by not letting it sink in.

From a technical perspective, the sound department stands out again, drawing the viewer as the third partner in the patrol team. Managalath Praveen’s cuts are also crisp.

Ronth verdict: If you are a fan of Shahi Kabir’s scripts, this Roshan Mathew, Dileesh Pothan-starrer will not disappoint. Packed with the tense thrills and grounded emotions that have become his trademark, it is another compelling chapter in his exploration of morally complex cops as they navigate professional pressures.