Officer on Duty & a Troubling Throwback to the Angry Cop Trope

Officer On Duty Is A Relic Of Malayalam Cinema’s Macho Cop Fetish

Officer on Duty revives the ‘angry cop’ archetype but fails to interrogate it. Harishankar's rage is justified, his toxic masculinity glossed over, and his violence repackaged as heroism, writes Neelima Menon .

HARISHANKAR in Officer on Duty is the latest instalment of Malayalam cinema's long-standing fascination with the 'angry cop' trope. Along with being a police officer grappling with personal tragedy, he also embodies a familiar archetype. His portrayal also raises questions about toxic masculinity, patriarchal values, and the glamorisation of vigilantism. Officer on Duty is a film at odds with itself, vacillating between trying to keep it realistic and taking the conventional, heroised portrayal of the angry cop of the 90s Malayalam cinema.

In Officer on Duty , directed by Jithu Ashraf, and written by Shahi Kabeer, a sense of foreboding precedes CI Harishankar’s (Kunchacko Boban) entrance, hinting at the turmoil to come. The atmosphere crackles with tension, subordinates stiffen, and their body language betrays a deep-seated apprehension. It is the kind of dramatic buildup that pays homage to the gritty, hard-boiled cop archetypes of 80s and 90s Malayalam cinema.

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In his jarring introductory passage, Harishankar who has been demoted to the CI post for assaulting his senior is seen intervening in a petty gold theft case. Amidst the commotion, he’s confronted by two women angrily bickering over their innocence. When one woman claims that she’s pregnant and innocent, Harishankar’s response is shocking: he snarls and delivers a brutal kick to her tummy. Though it quickly leads to the confession of the real culprit, Harishankar’s brutality has already left its mark. Therefore his subsequent claim that he knew she was lying about her pregnancy rings hollow, only serving to highlight the depths of his toxicity. Also, Harishankar rejoining after a hiatus, following the tragic loss of his daughter is expected to be a poignant aspect of his character. However, this brutal behaviour feels incongruous with his grieving persona. One would expect a character still reeling from trauma to exhibit vulnerability, not unbridled cruelty. Instead, Harishankar's toxicity is repeatedly justified as a ‘trauma response,’ a narrative choice that remains convenient and unconvincing.

Officer on Duty gains momentum when a counterfeit gold chain sets Harishankar on a new investigative path. The case soon becomes a personal vendetta, not just driving him to unravel its mysteries with determination but also confront his inner turmoil.

As the story progresses, Harishankar’s character development falters, plagued by inconsistencies. His abrasive behaviour at the office, violent outbursts against his wife Geetha (Priyamani), or his strained relationships are continually attributed to his grief and stress. And just to underscore the depth of his trauma, there is a prolonged scene in which he has an anxiety meltdown upon discovering a hanging victim hanging, which triggers a distressing flashback to his own daughters’ tragic fate. However, it soon becomes apparent that Harishankar's toxicity predates his grief. When he discovers his daughter’s leaked intimate videos while the mother offers support, it is his violent outburst that drives her to take such a drastic step.

However, the narrative attempts to humanise Harishankar through sentimental song montages showcasing his bond with his daughter, which contradicts his toxic behaviour. And yet the narrative ignores the mother’s anguish and is too focused on empathising with the father. Her character development feels underdeveloped, with her reactions and decisions coming across as forced and unconvincing. Like her sudden decision to divorce Harishankar, citing his responsibility in their daughter’s death is unconvincing given her prolonged tolerance of his unstable behaviour.

What's even more perplexing is how the narrative ends up whitewashing Harishankar’s toxic behaviour and, also having his wife apologise to him, thereby effectively absolving him of accountability and reinforcing a troubling dynamic of victim-blaming.

In hindsight, Harishankar’s characterisation draws parallels with Inspector Balram (Mammootty) from IV Sasi’s Aavanazhi (1986), considered a seminal figure in Malayalam cinema’s pantheon of angry young cops. Like Balram, Harishankar is portrayed as a righteous, yet volatile officer at odds with the system and his past. But then unlike Harishankar, Balram’s toxic masculinity is laid bare. His interactions with women are particularly troubling, as is evident in the conversation with his girlfriend where he expects her to prioritise domesticity over personal ambition. Also, his bitterness and resentment towards his former girlfriend, whom he mistakenly believes abandoned him for better prospects, reveal his deep-seated toxicity. Even his encounters with a sex worker (whom he marries in the sequel, Inspector Balram, 1991 ) are marked by disdain, underscoring his problematic behaviour with women. Similarly, Harishankar’s volatile reaction to his daughter’s video is rooted in patriarchal values that emphasise a girl’s chastity and virtue. This outdated mindset initially fuels his anger and sense of betrayal. And he shows no restraint in unleashing his frustrations on his wife, considering both are grief-stricken.

Bharath Chandran (Suresh Gopi) in Shaji Kailas’s Commissioner (1994) is again a very popular angry young cop, embodying characteristics similar to those of his predecessors and successors including Balram and Harishankar. He’s a more flamboyant, cocky, and entitled version of Balram, convinced that he can dismantle the system and create his own rules. However, his behaviour toward his fiancée is troubling. When she (Shobana) opposes him in court, he doesn’t think twice before misbehaving with her in public and typically the narrative trivialises his misogyny. In fact, Suresh Gopy did capitalise on the trend of alpha-male cops in Malayalam cinema, portraying a string of similar characters including Mohammed Sarkar ( FIR ), Easo Panicker ( Crime File ), Antony Punnekkadan ( Twenty-20 ), and DCP Vadakkan ( Christian Brothers) among others.

Also, Officer on Duty abandons police procedural aspects and focuses on portraying Harishankar as a larger-than-life figure who single-handedly confronts the perpetrators. The fight sequences are carefully choreographed to highlight his 'heroism', with Harishankar emerging unscathed every time. Ironically, his battalion consistently arrives after the action has concluded, underscoring the narrative's focus on Harishankar's heroics.

Interestingly, Harishankar's arrival coincides with a shift in Malayalam cinema, where the traditional, glorified cop archetype is being subverted. We have witnessed how modern narratives are now focused on flawed, relatable, and vulnerable protagonists who, despite their imperfections, become complicit in a system that ultimately exploits them. Ironically, the same writer who crafted Harishankar had previously pioneered the subversion of traditional cop archetypes in Joseph, Ela Veezha Poonchira , and Nayattu . Yet, despite avoiding punch lines, Harishankar still devolves into a vigilante in uniform, undermining the writer's earlier efforts to reimagine the cop genre.

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