Tips Films and Northern Lights Films’ Maalik (A) is the story of a young middle-class man who is so power-hungry that he becomes a criminal in his quest to join politics and attain power.
Deepak (Rajkumar Rao) comes from humble beginnings. He is power-hungry and dreams of joining politics. Towards this end, he adopts the path of crime. Bribery and murders have become part of his everyday life. In fact, he is called Maalik by not just his cronies but also by the police who tremble at the very mention of his name. He mints money in his quest to become powerful. His hunger for power is so huge that he kills his own mentor, politician Shankar Singh (Saurabh Shukla). One by one, he keeps eliminating his adversaries but there comes a stage when he has to pay a heavy price for all that he has done and is doing.
Jyotsana Nath and Pulkit have written a story and screenplay which lack a soul. Although the drama concentrates on Maalik’s crazy thirst for power and the extent to which he can go to achieve his goals, it does not establish a connect with the audience. The viewers, therefore, don’t feel for any character in the film, not even for Maalik. This lack of empathy for the hero (Maalik) is aggravated by the fact that Maalik is not even a do-gooder who is working for the betterment of the downtrodden or the needy or, for that matter, anyone else. Hence the screenplay becomes one of a man who is doing everything under his command for his own aggrandisement only. This is the reason why the audience don’t cry or sympathise with Maalik when he has to pay a heavy price for his actions. The helplessness of police officer Prabhu Das (Prosenjit Chatterjee) when Maalik storms into the latter’s house looks weird and does not befit the build-up of the character (Prabhu Das). In fact, Prabhu Das’ actions hardly befit his position. Another minus point is the excessive violence in the drama. Except for the mass audience in some pockets of India, the viewers will not approve of the mindless bloodshed and gore that unfolds on the screen. The climax is too long-drawn and the twist in Badauna’s (Anshuman Pushkar) character does not appeal; in fact, it looks forced.
Rajkumar Rao does a very fine job in the title role. Although a first for him, he does justice to his action-oriented character. Manushi Chhillar is quite nice as his wife, Shalini. Prosenjit Chatterjee is average in the role of Prabhu Das. Anshumaan Pushkar is fair as Badauna. Saurabh Shukla is earnest as minister Shankar Singh but he hardly gets the scope one expects of the character. Swanand Kirkire does an average job as Balhar Dev Singh. He doesn’t get much importance in the scheme of things. Saurabh Sachdeva is alright as Chandrashekhar; again, he does not have too many substantive scenes to perform. Rajendra Gupta lends decent support as Bindeshwar. Huma Qureshi is alright in a song-dance number. Baljinder Kaur (as Parvati), Satish Badal (as Tripathi), Murari (as Ram Parvesh), Tushar Rungta (as Manoj), Prashant Rana (as Paanu), Akshat Dixit (as Pappu), Mac Lara (as Bablu), Nawal Shukla (as Basant), Yogi Raj (as Langda), Sukesh Chandra Mishra (as Ram Babu), Rishi Raj Bhasin (as Shashi Bhushan), Yogesh Pandey (as Krishna Shukla), Chandan Kumar (as Naresh), Prince Tripathi (as Chandrashekhar’s son), Aman Kishore Saxena (as Dibakar), Aparna Tiwari (as Sunita Devi), Shahid Hussain (as Bobby), Pramod Sharma (as Pramod), Nizam Hussain (as Nizam), Hafeez Khan (as Dutta), Mohd. Hameed Alam (as Neeraj), Aparna Mishra (as Swagata), Ankit Mishra (as constable of Prabhu Das), Avinash Gupta (as Sonu), Rakhi Jaiswal (as Swati), Trilochan Singh Kalra (as the magistrate), R.C. Pathak (as Girja Singh), Ajay Rishi (as the sand businessman), Prabhat Lahiri (as the daroga), Bunty Singh (as Lakhan) and the others lend ordinary support.
Pulkit’s direction is average. His film looks lopsided. Sachin-Jigar’s music is quite nice. The songs (title song, Dil thhaam ke, Naamumkin) are appealing. Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lyrics are in synch with the requirements of the film. Song picturisations (by Vijay A. Ganguly) are fairly eye-filling. Ketan Sodha’s background music is quite impactful. Anuj Rakesh Dhawan’s cinematography is of a good standard. Vikram Dahiya’s action and stunt scenes are raw but the excessive violence will not be liked by ladies, families and city-based multiplex audience. Rita Ghosh’s production designing, and Baji Patil and Krishnanand Sharma’s art direction are appropriate. Zubin Sheikh’s editing is sharp but ought to have been crisper.
On the whole, Maalik is a very ordinary fare with some chances in pockets of circuits like U.P., Bihar and Rajasthan only. For the rest, it will not be able to sustain at the turnstiles.
Released on 11-7-’25 at Inox (daily 5 shows) and other cinemas of Bombay thru PEN Marudhar Cine Entertainment. Publicity: good. Opening: weak. …….Also released all over. Opening was below the mark at many places.