Watch out Bollywood, Malayalam cinema is leaving you behind, yet again. Mahesh Narayanan’s Malik (Malayalam), starring Fahadh Faasil and Nimisha Sajayan, is a compelling, sprawling epic—a web series really—packing a lot into a tightly wound, intimate film. It dropped on Amazon Prime Video last week. Bollywood’s more daring political stories may feature a Hindu-Muslim romance. But Malayalam cinema is usually ahead of the curve: they know the majority community is mostly converted to right-wing ideology, and well poised for mutual annihilation by stoking an endless cycle of violence; Malik addresses the next battle, minority versus minority. We see how politicians and police collude to repeatedly stoke communal hatred between Muslims and Christians, by playing on their insecurities and ambitions, over generations, in Ramadapally village, Trivandrum.

Narayanan’s third film after Take Off and CU Soon, Malik explores the friendship of two young fishermen-turned-smugglers—Sulaiman (Faasil) and David (Vinay Forrt), the rise of Sulaiman as a don, and how their politician buddy Abu (Dileesh Pothan, also director of Joji), exploits their friendship to turn the Muslim and Christian communities against each other. Sulaiman is also a saviour of the community, standing up to politicians and defending communal amity—he insists tsunami refugees be housed in the mosque regardless of their faith—but later has blood on his hands, too. David is a gullible Christian who is repeatedly tricked into communal violence by the corrupt Abu and police, with the next generation also paying the price. The politicians also exploit environmental issues— tsunami-related aid, a coastal highway, sand mining mafia to drive the wedge further. As no one will give evidence against Sulaiman, the police try to pressurise his nephew Freddy to kill Sulaiman in jail. The story is told through the flashbacks of several people. The film doffs its hat to The Godfather and Nayakan when shaping its Robin Hood-like hero Sulaiman. It is epic, with a large cast—like Gangs of Wasseypur, Vada Chennai and Thuramukham (The Harbour), yet Narayanan creates convincing character arcs and many small moments that stay with you throughout. Top Malayalam star Faasil puts in an excellent performance, yet he merges into the story and the ensemble cast, a near-impossible feat for Bollywood stars.