Maalik(2025)
Hindi152 mins
Set in the rural, rusty and politically charged Allahabad of the 1980s, Maalik is a peek into the making of a dreaded gangster from a humble background with intoxication of power to rule the world.
Director:Pulkit
Mood:
darkemotionalsuspenseful
Where to watch:
Quick Facts
- Streaming on
- Prime Video
- Theatrical Release
- 11 July 2025
- Director
- Pulkit
- Language
- Hindi
- Runtime
- 2h 32m
- Rating
- 6.0/10
Storyline
A young man from a poor village in 1980s India gets a taste of power. He becomes a feared gangster, driven by a hunger to control everything around him. The story shows his violent rise in a corrupt and political world.
“From the streets to the throne of crime.”
Film Details
6.0Rating
152Minutes
HindiLanguage
ACertificate
Release Date11 July 2025
Parental Guide
Violence
High
Language
Moderate
Sex / Nudity
Moderate
Drugs
Mild
Intensity
High
Where to Watch
Vibe & Tags
Mood
darkemotionalsuspenseful
Themes
corruptionsurvivalidentityjustice
Tonegritty
Pacingslow-burn
Complexitymoderate
Audiencemultiplex
Best Withwith-partner
Violence4
Emotion4
Humor1
Rewatchability3
Cast & Crew
#1
Manushi ChhillarShalini
→#2S
Swanand KirkireBalhar Singh
→#3
#4Y
Yogi RajLangda
→Rajkummar RaoDeepak / Maalik
→#5S
Saurabh SachdevaChandrashekhar
→#6
S
Satish BadalTripathi
→#7
T
Tushar RungtaManoj
→#8
#9M
Murari KumarRam Parvesh aka Pandit
→Saurabh ShuklaShankar Singh
→#10
A
Anshumaan PushkarBadauna
→#11
P
PulkitDirector
→#12
J
Jay ShewakramaniCrew
→Reunion Meter
Frequent partnerships reunited for Maalik
Cast reunions in this film: Huma Qureshi & Rajkummar Rao (2 films together), Huma Qureshi & Saurabh Shukla (2 films together), and Rajkummar Rao & Ketan Sodha (2 films together).
Trivia
- The film's director Pulkit also wrote the screenplay, drawing inspiration from real-life gangster stories from the Uttar Pradesh region.
- To capture the 1980s Allahabad setting authentically, the production team recreated entire market streets using vintage props and vehicles.
- A key action sequence required the lead actor to undergo three months of specialized training in a traditional Indian martial art form.
- The film's soundtrack features a folk song revived from the Purvanchal region, not commonly heard in mainstream Hindi cinema.
- Principal photography was deliberately scheduled during the winter months to capture the specific hazy light described in the script.
- The title 'Maalik', meaning 'owner' or 'master', is a term often used in the region to address local strongmen and political figures.
- Several supporting cast members are actually theatre artists from Allahabad, now Prayagraj, adding local dialect authenticity.