Review- MALIK (Malayalam)

Producer-Anto Joseph

Director- Mahesh Narayanan

Star Cast-Fahaad Faazil,Nimisha Sajayan, Vinay Fortt, Jalaja, Sanal Aman, Indrans, Dilesh Pothan, Salim Kumar,Dinesh Prabhakar, Joju George and Divya Prabha

Genre- Socio-political

OTT Platform- Amazon Prime Video

Rating- ***1/2

Gripping!

Jyothi Venkatesh

The film is unraveled in a non-linear fashion, and sets out to take a minute look at how politicians manipulate the system as well as innocent people to create projects that separate and destroy communities and the land, only to line their pockets.

Essentially, the film revolves around a selfless and bold risk-taker, Sulaiman, who tries his level best to bring positive development to his coastal town, where politicians and the cops constantly create obstacles in his way.

In a series of flashbacks, oscillating between 1965 and 2018 ,the film tells how a juvenile criminal Freddy (Sanal Aman) is hired by the cops and the politicians to assassinate his own estranged uncle and ageing patriarch Ali Ikka aka Sulaiman (Fahaad Faazil) in the jail but the boy changes his mind about his evil assignment after he hears his uncle’s side but then it is too late for redemption as the past ridden with crime, death, deceit and pain comes in the way.

The film, written, directed and edited by Mahesh Narayanan, begins right earnestly on a note of curiosity and suspense with the portrayal of elderly protagonist Sulaiman Ali Ahammad, played by Fahaadh Faasil, who is set to go on Hajj but is forcibly retained by the cops at the airport and put behind the bars on charges of TADA.

Sulaiman is a community leader who has developed the fictional fishing small time coastal area of Ramadapally and handles tensions and difficult situations even amid the preparations for the pilgrimage.

His wife Rosaline (Nimisha Sajayan), however implores to him that he set out to use the Haj pilgrimage to show that he is taking a detour from his shady past.

To put it in a nutshell, Malik deals with three friends who wash up on different shores after knocking about together as small time goons in their youth.

While Ali and Aboobacker (Dileesh Pothan) are Muslims, their buddy David (Vinay Forrt) is a Christian. Ali Ikka falls in love with David's sister Rosaline ( Nimisha Sajayan).

Through the benign character of Suleiman's mother Jameela (Jalaja), we are taken on a whirlwind tour through Suleiman’s childhood to show us how he develops the small town of Ramadapally.

Though she wants her son to be punished for his deeds, she wants the law to take its natural course.

While Fahaad Faazil proves as usual that he is a seasoned performer to carry his complex role on his slender shoulders almost throughout the film, Nimisha Sajan as his wife Rosaline is an actress to reckon with and does utmost justice to her role with effortless ease.

Whether it is Dileesh Pothan who plays the role of the political ally, PA Aboobacker or for that matter Vinay Fortt, who subtly plays the friend turned foe cum brother in law David who unwittingly become savvy to a sinister plot to kill Ikka’s only son and his nephew, both are brilliant to the core.

As far as cinematography is concerned, DOP Sanu John Varghese does justice to exploit the coastal town while writer cum director Mahesh Narayanan, who also handles the editing of the film, goes overboard and ought to have edited the film to make it slicker to watch as it has a running time which stretches to almost two hour and 41 minutes.

And we would have loved to see the film on the big screen. Sushin Shyam’s background score creates the right atmosphere.

Like his earlier film Take off, Malik also endears itself to the viewer with its intricate account of community relations and top-notch acting performances and is a gripping tale worth watching!

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