There is more to cop stories than thunderous blows and chasing down criminals. Through Action Hero Biju, starring actor Nivin Pauly in the lead, director Abrid Shine seems to have captured the cop-related imagination of people.
The social media platforms are replete with posts about events and incidents from commoners as well as police officers that matched up to what Action Hero Biju had ventured out to narrate in the first place.
A kind word goes a long way
A particular post from Facebook group 'Cinema Paradiso Club', put up by one such inspired mind, talks about the death of his father. He says the post-mortem was arranged for in Thrissur Medical College, 65km afar from where he stayed.
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"The police officer who had accompanied us looked like 'Antony Punnekkadan (referring to the police SP role actor Suesh Gopi played in Twenty Twenty), and it was common perception that all cops were bad tempered," the post read.
"I had no affection for my father, and I refused to look at his dead body. The police officer led me to my deceased father's body and asked me not to punish the lifeless body for what the soul that was once alive had committed. I broke down then," he adds.
He goes on to say that the officer offered them strength throughout the procedures. Happily, he recalls that when he went later to collect the death certificate, he came to know that the officer had been just promoted to the position of Sub Inspector.
"Action Hero Biju is a salute to these policeman; Biju makes you address the policeman as 'sir' with a touch of honesty that is missed in the larger picture," the post concludes.
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A noted deed
Another post in the group read out the experience of a man who was riding home in his scooter after watching the film.
While moving ahead on the road, he witnessed the after-effects of a bad accident – footwear covered in blood. He then spotted a blind man waiting to cross the road, and quickly stopped his two-wheeler and got off it to help him cross the road.
When he got back to his scooter, he saw a police jeep and realised that he had parked his vehicle in a 'No Parking' area. Just when he thought that he would be fined for this, the officer said with a smile, “We saw you helping the blind man cross the road; you went out to do a good deed, you may go”.
"That, for me, was a real police officer. And that was Action Hero Biju," Jaswin Jose, who wrote the post, added.
From reel to real
An account of a policeman, who watched Action Hero Biju, went thus—
"This is our life; we're not habitually chasing criminals; we don't empty the pistol barrel whenever we feel like and we don't have guns that shed never-ending bullets. We do not dance for item songs, nor do we have a concept that if one doesn't look like Inspector Balram (from the film Inspector Balram), he is not officer material. What we saw in the movie is the real thing."
Vinesh Viswanath, who wrote the post, had shared these bits from his conversation with Avinash, a police friend of his.
Vinesh goes on to say, "Action Hero Biju is the story of an ordinary Sub-Inspector; the film doesn't come with the usual backing of exaggerated fight sequences. Biju is a milestone in Nivin Pauly's career that he can be proud of. Good scenes were very well-received by the audience. With a wonderful cast, live audio design and great scripting, the film felt closer to life. 'A ride with a police officer' tag-line is completely justified. 'Biju' will be accepted by the viewers sooner or later."