Maalik review: Raj in Gundaraj, that’s it!

MaalikDirector PulkitActors Rajkummar Rao Saurabh ShuklaRating 1 starIf you arenrsquot aware of it already may I please recommend to you this movie called MalikObserve in particular how it starts off with almost a 10minute singletake shot using the camera as a dragon fly through the walls of a local don named Ali that is Fahadh FaasilOf course that film is in Malayalam mdash and a masterclass on how Mallu cinema is superior to anything made in Mumbai or elsewhere in India Even when theyrsquore attempting the semimainstream underworld genre still suffused with the specific politics of coastal KeralaWhich is not to be confused with Maalik starring Rajkummar Rao Raj that I just watchedAnd that starts off on the other hand with an absurd sequence of a beat copdaroga on the street inspecting vehicles whorsquos abducted by gruff goons and thrown into the dark den of the local maibaap MaalikThis is Raj He lets out an evil laugh asking this poor overweight cop to lick his own spit on the floor ldquothook chaatordquo This hero then shoots the cop on his back after spitting on that floor tooMuch later in the movie therersquos a line about how the role or the reason of existence for the hero is to overcome multiple obstacles And I guess elicit the audiencersquos empathyThe sheer ludicrousness with which the hero in this lsquolitti westernrsquo gets introduced itself is a fair indication that hersquos not gonna be liked by anyone at all mdash let alone find audiences rooting for him as he takes on gangsters like himHersquos no different from the others You know itrsquos gonna be downhill from here on if there is any space left to go as it isThe townrsquos Allahabad steeped in darkness where practically anybody can kill anybody and get away with it anyway So whyrsquos anything a big deal The time setting is presumably the 1980sAnd the inspiration for this picture is pretty much the ABC of every desi underworldgangster flick yoursquove seen from Agneepath Bandit Queen Company onwards to the golabarood of Gangs of Wasseypur down to Satya Albeit without any sense substance or structureCall it the coppedout clicheacute from Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein Netflix to the madness of Mirzapur Prime Video since the genre has seamlessly switched into the webseries world anywayWhatrsquore we looking at hereIf you must know a younger Raj who takes revenge on blokes who attacked his farmland mdash by dragging them to the centre of the street pushing the baddiersquos face into a kadhai with hot cooking oil in it while equally whacking the crap outta the other dudeThis is how lsquoDeepakrsquo anoints himself lsquoMaalikrsquo He shares the stage with other unshaven unkempt unbathed outlaws mdash the usual Shukla Shekhar Malhar Singh etc mdash whose writ is the law in Allahabad Uttar Pradesh as they navigate the same olrsquo government tenders and local businessmenAll of it implied Nothing quite seriously ventured intoThe thumb rule for scripts for such an actioner with nothing in them is when in doubt mdash rack the slide of multiple rifles and simply introduce shootouts one after another Theyrsquore probably fun to shoot on cameraThey never make headlines They turn into headaches relentlessly appearing without any context or lovehate for whorsquos being fired at forget when why or howSo you simply sit through them awaiting an actualproper scene to start It never does really And therersquos barely such a thing as eyeopening action anymoreI 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 choiceThe 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 Kapoorrsquos Animal Whether you liked it or not at least it was something you hadnrsquot watched beforeWhy 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 allThink in their dunderheaded selves the filmmakers probably set out to make Deewar for a hattip or probably believe theyrsquove made one Itrsquos a common delusion