Malik Movie Review

The Malayalam crime thriller ‘Malik’ is written, directed, and edited by Mahesh Narayanan. FahadhFaasil plays ‘Mailk’ with NimishaSajayan as his wife and Joju George in a prominent role.

Malik is OTT released on Amazon Prime Video on 15 July 2021.

Story:

Malik story spans over the lifetime of a man, Suleiman Ali (FahadhFaasil), a revolutionary leader from a coastal village in Kerala. The movie opens with a middle-aged Sulaiman alias Ali, getting arrested by the police under TADA act right before his Hajj Trip. His life story is then narrated by his mother, the police, and others in the sliced flashback method.

Suleiman was raised in a poor Muslim neighborhood, next to a Christian neighborhood. A counterfeit good smuggler in his teens, Suleiman, slowly turns out to be a person who works for the upliftment of the people around him. Both the minority communities live in harmony and Suleimanbecomes a powerful leader for them. Politicians, police, and rival smuggler mafia collude and plan to disrupt the harmony in the area to eventually bring down Ali Ikka’s monopoly. The rest of the story is all about the rise and fall of Ali.

Analysis:

The film has elements inspired by Gangster films, with engaging family drama elements and slices of political flavor embedded well into the framework. The writer-director Mahesh Narayanan borrowed the theme from ‘The Godfather’, Anurag Kashyap’s films, and presents the audience with a complex, wide-reaching story. A few times though, the director has gone overboard trying to incorporate too many into a single story. There is, however, no lack of bright elements in the film.

First and foremost, the biggest strength of this film is Fahadh Faasil. Widely acclaimed for his performances, Fahadh, once again hits the ball out of the park as Ali. His character has multiple facets–as a teen, a young man, an adult – every one of them, Fahadh’s portrayal is effortlessly seamless. Fahadh’s performance is solidly supported by Nimisha and Joju George.

The film is lengthy with near 160 minutes run time, apparently, the pace slows down at times especially the initial phase. As the characters gain depth, the melodrama thickens and the overall impact is that of an engaging crime genre tale elevated by family drama.
Malik release has been delayed several times and it deserves the canvas of the big screen and a good sound system that would have made SushinShyam’s background score more impactful. The cinematography by SanuVerghese is outstanding as well

Verdict :

Malik is an engaging gangster-style film with political drama. The film is backed by solid casting and technicians. The complex story has been told in a simple manner but at slow-paced at times. Overall, Malik is a good watch.

Telugu360 Rating : 3/5