Maalik Movie Review: Rajkummar Rao tries reinvention and steps into a brutal heartland tale, but it all falls flat

A familiar story, told without bite

The plot—on paper—isn’t new, but it still holds cinematic potential. A notorious gangster’s reign, a no-nonsense cop with a string of encounters to his name, a political nexus, and a final reckoning. ‘Sehar,’ made nearly two decades ago with Arshad Warsi and Sushant Singh in pivotal roles, tread a similar path with far more control and authenticity. In ‘Maalik,’ we get Officer Prabhu Das (Prosenjit), a transfer cop on a mission to clean up the mess, and a politician, Shankar Singh (Saurabh Shukla), a veteran politician, who once mentored Deepak. But everything feels borrowed and undercooked. The screenplay clumsily jumps from scene to scene, never letting any moment breathe. Homages to gangster films—especially the Tony Montana-style outbursts—feel more gimmicky than organic. You can see the director trying to mimic intensity, but it never quite lands.

Rao’s reinvention doesn’t land

Rajkummar Rao, known for disappearing into roles, struggles here. He’s trying to shed his “everyman” skin and embrace menace, but the performance feels forced. Dishevelled hair, cigarettes, and scowls alone don’t sell the transformation. The character of Maalik needed depth—a slow burn of rage, maybe some internal contradictions—but all we get are hollow gestures and loud reactions. Manushi Chhillar, as Shalini-Maalik’s wife, barely registers. Her character has no real purpose beyond being a tragic device. Saurabh Shukla and Swanand Kirkire, both capable of elevating weak material, are wasted in half-baked roles that lead nowhere. Everyone seems game, but the script keeps letting them down.

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No stakes, no conflict, no catharsis

A major issue with ‘Maalik’ is the lack of a true antagonist. ‘Maalik’ moves through the film largely unchallenged. Prabhu Das may be a tough cop on paper, but there’s no real friction between him and Maalik. Even when the film tries to throw curveballs—a death here, a betrayal there—nothing lands with impact.
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Characters come and go without purpose. Emotional turns are never earned. The sudden change of heart in Maalik, leading to his surrender, is baffling. There’s no psychological build-up, no defining trigger. It just... happens. The result is a film where the stakes feel paper-thin and the payoff, non-existent.

A wasted opportunity in every sense

There’s no denying that ‘Maalik’ had the makings of something powerful. The setting, the theme, the genre — all rich with possibilities. But the film treats them like checklist items rather than narrative drivers. The storytelling lacks vision and cohesion. Every time you think it might recover, it tumbles into another cliché or illogical twist. In the end, ‘Maalik’ is neither thrilling nor thoughtful. It’s just a frustrating mess that wastes its cast, its setup, and most of all, the audience’s time. Pulkit’s direction shows flashes of intent, but the lack of clarity in tone and purpose derails any momentum. What could’ve been an engaging portrait of crime and consequence ends up being another bland entry in the crime drama pile.

Rating: 2/5