‘Malik’ movie review: Fahadh Faasil drama stops just short of soaring high

When the tip credit of some movies roll up, we marvel how little we all know concerning the protagonist, apart from in all probability the particular person’s exterior look. Malik’s opening sequence, stretched over an uninterrupted ten minutes, exists in a diametrically reverse world, the place establishing the character and portray his varied hues earlier than the narrative takes off, is paramount.

In these frenetic opening minutes, when Ahammadali Sulaiman (Fahadh Faasil) is getting ready to depart for his Hajj pilgrimage, we get hints of his chequered previous, the tone of his relationships along with his household in addition to some highly effective folks, his stature as a revered and feared chief of the native Muslim inhabitants, and at last, his unsure future. That character sketch is so arresting that we nearly don’t take note of the truth that the shot was uninterrupted — which is how good cinematography ought to be — unobtrusive and non-gimmicky.

After the immensely profitable Take Off and C U Quickly, author and director Mahesh Narayanan ups the sport in his third outing Malik, with a multi-layered narrative weaved round a manufactured battle between two communities, which results in a lot bloodshed. The central battle right here hinges round Sulaiman aka Ali Ikka, who’s arrested from the airport for an previous terrorism-related cost. The police needs him eradicated, for there may be a lot unhealthy blood between him and the pressure, however it’s simpler mentioned that accomplished.

The author actually has drawn components from a riot and police shootings, which occurred on the Kerala coast some years again, though the movie doesn’t declare to be a real-life narrative. Fairly, the movie has extra similarities to conventional gangster narratives, and up to date movies like Vetrimaaran’s Vada Chennai, with its portrayal of the comparatively harmless days of the protagonists, the gradual shift into the sale of smuggled items, the pure animosities which are created on this line of enterprise, and the betrayals that comply with. The resultant predictability coming from this acquainted construction although, doesn’t mar the expertise a lot.

Malik can also be a narrative of the evolving relationships between the native communities within the adjoining coastal villages of Ramadapally and Edavathura, and the colorful characters who populate these shores. Virtually all of them get fascinating character arcs, be it Ali’s spouse Roseline (Nimisha Sajayan), her brother and Ali’s friend-turned-foe David (Vinay Forrt) or Abu (Dileesh Pothan), who transforms from an affable native smuggler to a scheming politician. Although Ali towers over the native inhabitants, he’s hardly larger-than-life; we’re conscious of his frailties and get a sense that he may fall.

The script subtly appears to be like at how extremists in addition to power-hungry components in each faith attempt to create and widen fissures with different communities and pour oil into simmering tensions, all for their very own slim advantages. On the similar time, the script takes particular care in separating Ali from these components, regardless of his violent previous. It appears to create a skinny veneer of justification for his acts being within the bigger pursuits of the folks, relatively than for his personal objective. Another handy takes, like blaming the police for nearly your complete bloodshed, stops the movie simply wanting hovering excessive.

Malik is envisioned and executed as a mass entertainer on a bigger scale (and for a bigger display screen), with Sanu Varghese’s digital camera and Sushin Shyam’s background rating taking it up a couple of notches. In the end, Mahesh Narayanan is right here keep, no matter whether or not the dimensions or display screen is massive or small.

Malik is at the moment streaming on Amazon Prime