Malik [2021] Review:

"Can anyone from this coast kill him?"

Bodhisattya Pal

16/07/2021

Malik is an epic political gangster drama written & directed by 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐧 and consists of some of the finest actors from Malayalam film industry; It's hard to describe Malik but it is certainly ambitious, elegant & technically brilliant.

With his third directorial, Narayanan's evolution & maturity is evident. I always adore his works; from the patriotic 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟 [𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟕] & experimental 𝐂 𝐔 𝐒𝐨𝐨𝐧 [𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎], his command over filmmaking was quite clear. But this was a challenging project. To keep all these genius star cast composed in a broad spectrum work like this, a technically sound director is essential and Mahesh was apt.

Another talking point is 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐮 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞's extra ordinary cinematography; it was precisely well balanced in some parts and breathtaking in other parts.

It demands a separate post to describe the brilliance of the star cast. It's wise not to talk about the main man of Indian film industry right now - 𝐅𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥; he is the malik and the messiah here. But the best part of Malik is the phenomenal performance from the other star casts; from the grey shaded Joju George & Dileesh Pothan, emotionally strong Nimisha Sajayan to the game changer Vinay Forrt - Malik is a must watch only for the steller cast.

But the real hero here is 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐲𝐚𝐦 with his out of the world, majestic score! Malik could lose half of its charm if there was no Sushin. For me, it's one of the finest film score an Indian movie ever had.

Malik showed that a 2:40+ runtime is not a problem if the content is engaging, well crafted and off course well presented.

All said and done; Malik is one of the most powerful movie of this genre India had ever produced; a strong, thrilling, sentimental & emotional movie with a social commentary on the political-religious conflicts, which is most relevant than ever considering the current situation of the country!

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• Movie enthusiast

• Music composer, writer & lyricist

• Student of B.Sc Agriculture in Banaras Hindu University

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