Maalik – A Roar Without a Soul
Release Date : 11 Jul 2025
If a man has nothing to lose, he becomes the most dangerous version of himself. Maalik wants to explore that thought. It wants to be a gritty rise-of-the-antihero saga, soaked in blood, betrayal, and bravado. And with Rajkummar Rao at its center, it nearly convinces you that it could be more than just another gangster flick. But in the end, ambition is the only thing Maalik has in excess. What it lacks is bite.
Director: Pulkit
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Manushi Chhillar, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Saurabh Shukla, Anshumaan Pushkar, Rajendra Gupta
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5)
Set in the political badlands of late-80s Allahabad, Maalik follows Deepak (Rajkummar Rao), a farm worker’s son turned reluctant outlaw. Born into oppression and broken by injustice, he rises through the murky swamp of crime and politics to become "Maalik" — both feared and worshipped. But the higher he climbs, the messier his world gets, with friends turning foes and the line between power and paranoia blurring beyond recognition.
Rao throws himself into the role with abandon, shedding his “middle-class everyman” skin for something raw, animalistic. The beard is thicker, the chest puffed, the body count rising. His Maalik smirks while pulling the trigger — but behind the bravado, Rao manages to inject occasional flickers of vulnerability. It's a strong effort, even if the material doesn’t always rise to meet him.
Veterans like Saurabh Shukla and Prosenjit Chatterjee add much-needed flavor. Chatterjee, in particular, shines as an aging cop with unfinished business, making even the most over-the-top moments land with style. Manushi Chhillar, as Maalik’s moral compass, gives her most assured performance yet — but her character is underwritten, like a lamp flickering in a stormy gangster epic.
The dusty lanes, cramped interiors, and ominous silence between gunshots paint a convincing portrait of small-town lawlessness. There are scenes where the grime feels real and the violence unsettling — fleeting glimpses of the film Maalik could have been.
We’ve seen this story — the wronged man rising from the gutter to become a godfather — far too many times. Maalik adds nothing new. Every twist feels telegraphed, every betrayal predictable. It leans so heavily on the genre’s old furniture that it forgets to build something original.
Clocking in at 152 minutes, the film drags through its second half like a wounded soldier. Subplots multiply, scenes lose focus, and the climactic showdown feels stretched beyond impact. There’s a powerful 110-minute movie buried here — but it never gets the edit it needs.
Sachin-Jigar’s soundtrack, including a bizarrely placed item number, feels more obligatory than inspired. The background score tries hard to inject urgency, but often ends up overwhelming the narrative rather than supporting it.
Maalik is a film that confuses intensity with depth. It wants to roar like a lion but ends up growling into the void. Despite a dedicated performance from Rajkummar Rao and a few stylish moments, it never breaks free of the clichés that shackle it. The soul of the story — its emotional core — remains elusive, buried beneath bullet shells and predictable twists.
If you're a fan of gangster dramas, you might appreciate the familiar beats. If you're here for Rao’s transformation — yes, he delivers. But if you’re looking for something original, affecting, or unforgettable — Maalik isn’t your messiah.
Watch it for Rajkummar Rao. Skip it for everything else.