Maalik

“'Maalik' is too long, too dull, too by-the-numbers. The film is predictable to a fault – a new gangster drama with old beats is not the break-out that Rao must have been hoping for.”

“Maalik emerges as the most riveting gangster epic since Satya, delivering a compelling narrative with strong performances and authentic storytelling that elevates it beyond typical crime dramas.”

“Rajkummar Rao rules and roars in a tenacious but tried-and-tested crime drama”

“Maalik is a compelling showcase for its cast, especially Rajkummar Rao, but it could have been so much more with a sharper script and tighter scissors in the editing room. The blood flows, the bullets fly, the dialogues punch, but the story, ultimately, walks a road too familiar to feel fresh.”

“Guns, blood, violence, gore— don't these all already bore? Not really, when in the hands of talented actors. If there's one thing that Maalik gets right from the start, it's casting Rajkummar Rao, an unlikely action hero.”

“Maalik's powerful lead performance, realistic storyline, and evocative world-building make it stand out even though it isn't a groundbreaking movie in the gangster genre. Rajkummar Rao and Pulkit's Maalik rightly deserves 3 out of 5 stars.”

“Maalik is just unpleasant, not even slightly engaging. A film with relentless violence cannot be entertaining, but Maalik is just unpleasant, not even slightly engaging. There is nothing in Maalik that has not been seen in films before, and Pulkit has just turned his protagonist into a despicable monster.”

“The film showcases Rajkummar Rao's gritty portrayal of an underworld don in the 80s Prayagraj. Despite strong performances, the film struggles with clichéd storytelling and emotional disconnect.”

“Maalik is an uninspired and clichéd gangster drama that offers little novelty and can be skipped.”

“It's a complete surrender to unoriginality! Anyone schooled in Hindi gangsta rap could have written this script, which specializes in a complete and studied lack of inventiveness. The beginning, middle, and end are so utterly predictable that one only waits to see at which and to what extent the predictable happens.”

“A massy Rajkummar Rao in a messy actioner”

“The pacing is problematic, the editing is uneven, and the narrative contrivances are left uncovered. Overall, it feels like the makers are under the impression that they are telling something novel when, perhaps, the effort should have been to hide the obvious. At 152 minutes, the picture gets pixellated, and one gets piqued.”

“Rajkummar Rao is trapped in a stale gangster saga that fails to elevate beyond conventional crime-drama tropes.”