Malik Review: Fahadh Faasil Excels in a Mediocre Film!

Every actor aspires to see themselves in the shoes of Marlon Brando and do a “Godfather” like film in their career. Only a very few were able to pull the Messiah role and earn a name for themselves. Be it Mani Ratnam’s masterpiece Nayakan for Kamal Haasan or the blockbuster Baasha for Superstar Rajinikanth: these movies gather their primary inspiration from “The Godfather.” Following their footsteps, Fahadh Faasil, who is in the prime of his career, becomes Ali Ikka or Sulaiman, the Malik of underprivileged coastal people.

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With the monstrous performer Fahadh Faasil in the lead, Mahesh Narayanan writes and directs Malik and includes an ensemble cast, including Nimisha Sajayan, Vinay Forrt in the supporting roles. The film narrates the story of Sulaiman, who moves into a fishing village along with his mother and sister. The social situation makes him drop out of school, get arrested and earn a living by smuggling goods from off-coast ships. The rest of the movie stretches out to recount his life, turning himself into a redeemer of his people.

The prominent underlying theme of the movie is the relationship between two different religious communities living as a neighbour, with their lives interdependent. And how their amicability is turned into animosity by corrupt officials. Malik also sheds light on how the government forcefully grabs land from the people in the pretence of economic development.

The biggest positive to Malik, standing as a solid backbone and carrying forward the film, is Fahadh Faasil. It amazes me how a person could be this talented and be a natural performer. Fahadh Faasil has the ability to convey emotions through his eyes, and he makes sure that he does not exaggerate anything as he stays within the peripheral. And to look up to him in the role of a Messiah, as Ali Ikka is refreshing and gratifying.

The outline of the story and the intention of the director Mahesh Narayanan is nothing unusual when you take examples from the Tamil Cinema Industry. Directors like Pa. Ranjith and Mari Selvaraj has been predominantly pushing their limits to voice the voiceless through their films. Malik aims to be vocal for the social injustice against the minority community, despite being the narration of the life of a local ruffian.

When you draw parallels with films like Kaala, starring Rajinikanth and directed by Pa. Ranjith, both the movies has the hero struggling to defend their land from government acquisition. Or when you compare it with Mani Ratnam’s Nayakan, both the films has a hero coming from distant places and standing together with the people for their needs. What sets Malik apart from the other films of a similar genre is the narration and the screenplay giving it a new feel to the Malayalam audience.

However, the overall setting is indistinguishable and analogous to many other films, and the above are a fraction of examples. Malik appears to be an amalgamation of several movies of the same genre and replicates the May 2009 Beemapally riots.

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Sushin Shyam gives the necessary boost to Malik through his captivating music, which blends to the needs. The camera works of Sanu Varghese makes the film look more balanced and transfers you to the locale of Ramadapally. The supporting casts Nimisha Sajayan, Vinay Forrt and several others played their role to satisfaction.

To end with, Malik might be an addition to the new age Malayalam Cinema. With a runtime of 160 minutes, the director Mahesh Narayanan takes his due time to narrate what he intends and succeeds in telling a gripping tale. Yet the fair resemblance and the memories of films of similar kind plays the spoilsport. Nevertheless, Malik is charming with Fahadh in the front seat and takes you on a journey to the life of Ali Ikka. Watch ‘Malik’ on Prime Video here.

‘Malik’ Rating – 3/5

Images via Prime Video