Maalik (2025) Review: A Gangster Saga Short on Surprises

This Maalik review starts with a simple question: can a strong lead performance carry a familiar gangster story for two and a half hours? Pulkit's Hindi-language crime drama stars Rajkummar Rao as a man who rises from nothing in 1980s Allahabad. Critics have been split, and so are we.

Maalik Review: The Story So Far (No Spoilers)

The Maalik plot is set in a rural, rusty and politically charged Allahabad. Deepak, played by Rajkummar Rao, comes from a humble background and gets drawn into the criminal underworld. The film follows how a man with ambition begins to taste power and wants more.

The tagline sums up the mood: power was his destiny, until power tasted blood. We will stop at the setup, because the way the story unfolds is best seen fresh. What matters is that this is a classic rise-of-a-gangster tale, with politics tangled into the crime.

The film runs 152 minutes and carries a Not Rated label in the US. It is a crime movie with plenty of action built in.

What Works in Maalik

The biggest strength is the lead. Several reviewers single out Rajkummar Rao, and one Rotten Tomatoes critic called it his best performance to date. Whether or not you agree, he gives the title character a quiet menace that holds your attention.

The setting also helps. A dusty 1980s Allahabad, where local politics and crime feed each other, gives the film a texture that a generic city backdrop would not. Pulkit, who also co-wrote the script with Jyotsana Nath, clearly wants the place to feel like a character.

The early stretch moves reasonably well. One critic described the first half as watchable, and that matches our experience: the world-building is brisk and the stakes build steadily.

Maalik Cast and Performances

The Maalik cast is led by Rajkummar Rao as Deepak, known as Maalik. Manushi Chhillar plays Shalini, and Saurabh Shukla appears as Shankar Singh. Prosenjit Chatterjee plays Prabhu Das, with Anshumaan Pushkar as Badauna and Rajendra Gupta as Bindeshwar.

Rao is the reason to watch. He shifts between calm control and sudden aggression, and he sells the character's growing hunger for power. The supporting players add useful local colour, with the veteran actors giving the political side of the story some weight.

The weakness is that the supporting roles often feel like types rather than people. Strong actors do what they can with them, but the script gives few of them real room to surprise us.

Where Maalik Stumbles

The main complaint among critics is familiarity. One reviewer said the film repeats gangster tropes without a fresh take, and another called it too long, too dull and too by-the-numbers. We found the same.

The length is the clearest problem. At 152 minutes, the second half drags, and the screenplay becomes predictable. Gulte, which gave the film 2 out of 5, described a second half that goes on and on.

The reception reflects this split. Rotten Tomatoes shows 23% from 13 reviews, while IMDb lists 5.8 out of 10. Letterboxd users average 2.75 out of 5. That is a mixed picture, not a disaster.

Is Maalik Worth Watching?

Maalik is worth watching if you are a Rajkummar Rao fan or enjoy gangster dramas, but it is not essential viewing. The performance and setting are strong, yet the story rarely leaves well-trodden ground.

If you like the genre, you will recognise the beats, and that may be comfortable or tiresome depending on your taste. The Maalik release date was 11 July 2025 in India.

If you want more gangster stories, our Thug Life review covers another crime tale stretched thin, and our Good Bad Ugly review looks at a fan-service gangster return.

Who Will Enjoy Maalik

• Fans of Rajkummar Rao who want to see him in a harder, more violent role.

• Viewers who like Indian gangster sagas with a political backdrop.

• Patient audiences who do not mind a long runtime and a familiar story.