If there is one Malayalam Movie that you cant miss over this weekend on OTT is Fahadh Faasil new flic Malik. The actor has deep dived into the character of Sulaiman to ensure that his fans and the audience wont leave a impression of discontentment.
The two-and-a-half hours plus long, Malik is a well crafted epic crime saga capturing the lifetime of one man, Sulaiman Ali, the revolutionary leader of a coastal village in Kerala who in the opening sequences of the film gets arrested by the authorities at the airport.
Malik is an engaging crime drama, and watch worthy film
Fearing his increasing influence in the region’s politics, local leaders draw a plan to have him assassinated in captivity. But Ali Ikka, as he is affectionately known by his followers, is convinced that no one in the community can harm him.
The movie then takes you to an ambitious, but often rough-around-the-edges crime drama which is a complex story, simply told, despite its loose structure and incredible cast of characters.
An engaging tale of a Godfather kind who resorts to crime in a fight against the likes of politicians, bureaucrats and policemen in his small coastal town, Malik, is a joy to watch as Fahadh Faasil hits the right chord to engage his audience from start to finish
Joju George, appears entry in the film takes time in the role of Ramadhir Singh, an IAS officer named Anwar Ali a unique character on his own. He and Ali Ikka relationship go back a long way; in fact, the Malik — most of his relationships can be traced back to his youth. And Anwar knows that to enter his inner circle, he cannot rely on outside help.
Soon after, Malik launches into an extended flashback that lasts about an hour. We watch as a young Ali and his poor family move into a coastal village at the edge of a garbage dump — it is where Ali’s father will be eventually be buried, discarded like every other member of their community by the iron fist of majoritarianism.
Sulaiman, is all about protecting the people, and the fragile ecology, of the hero’s hometown. He is unmindful of the religious dynamics at play here. How long can he hold out when political forces move in to incite hatred to serve their narrow ends? is the crux of the film.
The film goes all the way back to the early 1980s to trace the origins and subsequent rise of Sulaiman as a man blindly trusted by the townspeople. From indulging in small-time crime – mainly smuggling of foreign goods – and building a mini empire in Ramadapally, he begins to perform deeds that elevate him to the status of a saviour.
Watch Fahadh Faasil Malik online
Fahadh Faasil is a joy to watch as he brilliantly carries the role with intensity, in the central role, he has time and again proved that he is an unparalleled talent in Indian Cinema. His skill to showcase an emotional through-line that connects the more revolutionary-minded Ali of the 80s to the more sombre, ‘present day’ portions, a man plagued with a deep melancholy is impressive.
Malik is streaming on Amazon Prime from today.
