MALIK Review

Malik is a 2021 crime-gangster film, written and directed by Mahesh Narayanan, starring Fahadh Faasil, Nimisha Sajayan, Vinay Forrt, Joju George, Dileesh Pothan and others. The movie Malik is about Sulaiman (Fahadh Faasil), who is into different illegal activities for earning money for the development of his village. Sulaiman slowly becomes a leader of his community and later transform into a gangster who stood with his villagers and worked for their growth. When some politicians and police authorities bring communal issues to the village, his friends became his enemy, the life of Sulaiman turns different, and it spoils the peaceful atmosphere and unity among the villagers. Malik is about Ego, Betrayal, and Karma like the other gangster movies before.

Fahadh Faasil is easily a world-class actor who don’t have any limitations when it comes to performance. In Malik, we can see different contrast of Sulaiman during his ages. Fahadh adapted the character and lived as Sulaiman throughout. He is the answer from Mollywood for Next Mohanlal or Mammootty or Kamal Haasan from India. He is here to achieve more and excite us! His intense acting gave Mollywood another strong gangster character. Nimisha Sajayan is not your regular actress. From her debut movie Thondimuthalum Drisakshiyum to Malik, she always had a unique style and screen presence. Malik got a suitable female lead. She handled the role perfectly. The aged Roseline performed by Nimisha deserves applause. Currently the best performer among Malayalam Cinema actresses. Vinay Forrt’s one of the best characters. David was a crucial character in Malik. With a balanced way of calmness and aggressiveness portrayed by Vinay, the role came out very well. Rest all the characters such as Joju George, Dileesh Pothan, Dinesh Prabhakar, Indrans, and others did their portion nicely that no one else can replace the roles. The major strength of Malik is its irreplaceable casting, and all had equal screen space. Kudos to Mahesh Narayanan for that.

The movie will be a benchmark for the upcoming big-budget films in terms of technicality. Malik had the best output from all the technical departments. Sanu Varghese’s Cinematography is beautiful. Only the best cinematographer can capture some impressive signature frames. Malik had many such scenes where a viewer will enjoy the visual beauty. Being a gangster film, the movie’s colour tone and ambience will make us feel that heaviness inside us. Sushin Shyam’s music was another plus. That BGM in Malik was addictive. Since the movie is an OTT release, we really can’t comment on the editing as an editor mostly won’t remove a scene if it’s an OTT film. Malik had a few speed breakers that resulted in more duration. Removing those scenes would have been better. But still, as said, we won’t feel any discomfort due to the visual experience and the star cast performances.

The game-changer of Malik is the art department. They created a whole village that looked so realistic. Last but not least, the King of Malik is definitely Mahesh Narayanan. Malik is all about his vision, experience and masterpiece. The movie’s writing, screenplay and direction are top-notch. He gave Malayalam Cinema a stunning gangster film with the essence of quality and dedication. 

The Theatrical watch of Malik is a major miss! It would have been the best ever experience for a Malayalam movie in terms of the visual and sound experience if this was a theatrical release. Watch Malik only on big screens instead of Mobile to feel the treat.