The inspiration for Rajkummar Rao's Maalik is pretty much the ABC of every desi underworld/gangster flick. The filmmakers probably set out to make Deewar for a hat-tip, or are probably delusional that they’ve made one
Maalik review
Maalik
Director: Pulkit
Actors: Rajkummar Rao, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: 1 star
If you aren’t aware of it already, may I please recommend to you this movie called Malik.
Observe, in particular, how it starts off with almost a 10-minute single-take shot, using the camera as a dragon fly through the walls of a local don named Ali, that is Fahadh Faasil.
Of course, that film is in Malayalam — and a masterclass on how Mallu cinema is superior to anything made in Mumbai (or elsewhere in India). Even when they’re attempting the semi-mainstream underworld genre, still suffused with the specific politics of coastal Kerala.
Which is not to be confused with Maalik, starring Rajkummar Rao (Raj) that I just watched.
And that starts off, on the other hand, with an absurd sequence of a beat cop/daroga on the street, inspecting vehicles, who’s abducted by gruff goons, and thrown into the dark den of the local mai-baap, Maalik.
This is Raj. He lets out an evil laugh, asking this poor, overweight cop to lick his own spit on the floor (“thook chaato”). This hero then shoots the cop on his back, after spitting on that floor too.
Much later in the movie, there’s a line about how the role or the reason of existence for the hero is to overcome multiple obstacles. And, I guess, elicit the audience’s empathy?
The sheer ludicrousness with which the hero in this ‘litti western’ gets introduced itself is a fair indication that he’s not gonna be liked by anyone at all — let alone find audiences rooting for him as he takes on gangsters like him.
He’s no different from the others. You know it’s gonna be downhill from here on, if there is any space left to go, as it is.
The town’s Allahabad, steeped in darkness, where practically anybody can kill anybody, and get away with it, anyway. So, why’s anything a big deal? The time setting is presumably the 1980s.
And the inspiration for this picture is pretty much the ABC of every desi underworld/gangster flick you’ve seen: from Agneepath, Bandit Queen, Company onwards to the gola-barood of Gangs of Wasseypur, down to Satya. Albeit without any sense, substance, or structure.
Call it the copped-out cliché, from Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein (Netflix) to the madness of Mirzapur (Prime Video), since the genre has seamlessly switched into the web-series world anyway.
What’re we looking at here?
If you must know, a younger Raj, who takes revenge on blokes who attacked his farmland — by dragging them to the centre of the street, pushing the baddie’s face into a kadhai with hot cooking oil in it, while equally whacking the crap outta the other dude.
This is how ‘Deepak’ anoints himself ‘Maalik’. He shares the stage with other unshaven, unkempt, unbathed outlaws — the usual Shukla, Shekhar, Malhar Singh, etc — whose writ is the law in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, as they navigate the same ol’ government tenders and local businessmen.
All of it implied. Nothing quite seriously ventured into.
The thumb rule for scripts for such an actioner with nothing in them is, when in doubt — rack the slide of multiple rifles and simply introduce shootouts, one after another. They’re probably fun to shoot (on camera).
They never make headlines. They turn into headaches, relentlessly appearing without any context, or love/hate for who’s being fired at; forget when, why, or how.
So, you simply sit through them, awaiting an actual/proper scene to start. It never does, really. And there’s barely such a thing as eye-opening action anymore.
I can see why Raj has starred in this film. It gives him the chance to bulk up, walk with a swag, deliver a few supposedly cool lines, choosing between AK47 and AK56 for his weapon of choice.
The badass, bearded hero is the flavour of every season. He has a caring wife for a companion, who could pass off for Triptii Dimri on a terrible day. Take Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal. Whether you liked it or not, at least it was something you hadn’t watched before.
Why am I watching this nth version of every movie? Mainly to catch references to Bachchan, and nods to other pictures, and marvel at the sheer delulu of it all.
Think, in their dunderheaded selves, the filmmakers probably set out to make Deewar for a hat-tip, or probably believe they’ve made one. It’s a common delusion.
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