Malik: The movie Malayalees were waiting for amidst the pandemic

The clouds seem to have drifted away to let the sun a little sneak peak into our lives today. Phew! 4 days later. Thank you, Kerala for the weather. Oops. I take back my words for here comes the lashing rains, yet again. 

Twice or thrice I checked if my vision was playing tricks upon me in these past few days. Then I realised, it had to do with the tricks of the clouds. I switched on the lights and lo and behold! It was bright all over again.

While the rains lash down, I am transported to last night when the soil lay drenched and I sat like a panda under a huge blanket while Malik beckoned. My husband couldn't wait to click on the play button. After a long time, I was excited to see a movie trailer and ever since I did, I eagerly waited for Malik. 

And it started. Nimisha & Fahadh -- my heart did a double somersault. Then came the ones who have been part of some remarkable  Malayalam movies since few years now -- Vinay Fortt, Dileesh Pothan, Dinesh Prabhakar, Parvathi Malaa. Salim Kumar and Indrans played their parts well too (without doubt). Jalaja's  presence sure was a surprise. If this casting wasn't enough, bang! Joju George entered the picture too with his effortless acting in place. 

Mahesh Narayanan (other directorial ventures include Take Off and C U Soon) did a great job in covering different eras with such elan. Be it the floral shirts, the Brut Original bottles of perfume, the plaited hair complete with ribbons -- evoked a sense of nostalgia and old world charm (Dhanya Balakrishnan, kindly take a bow!)  

Malik was probably what the Malayali audience was waiting for since sometime. The pandemic did set forth many experiments like c u soon and the like. But Malik can probably be termed as one of those family entertainers that in an alternate reality, a family would have stepped out for on a weekend without the fear of masks shifting from their noses. The only fear may have been of the rising blood pressure thanks to pop corns costing more than the movie tickets. 

Showing a man's journey from his accidental re-birth; the political nitty-gritty, throwing in a fair share of religion, the untold pains -- all within 161 minutes is not an easy task. The clean handling of a dirty side of religion, politics and the mess it can cause is an added feather in the team's hat. The shock elements too work as a charm for the movie. 

While the viewer did feel that it could have been turned into a web series (at certain points) by providing more depth to the characters, it definitely weaves in a lot into the plot. For example, as a viewer, I wanted to see more of the raw Roselyn and her sure shot authentic, witty mannerism. 

When it comes to women characters, the thread of marriage, motherhood, freedom to practice religion of choice is definitely worth applause. However, when it comes to deciding the child's upbringing, it is a razor-edged stance. Some might say that 'she was warned'. Considering the times in which the scene is set in, a considerably forward- thinking male could have thought better. 

There is also a scene where Jalaja is cursed by other women for standing up to her truth, like a mirror to the society we are a part of. 

The last scene where Nimisha sits staring into nothingness is going to haunt me for a long time. What were her exact thoughts at that point in time? 

There's a lot Malik delves into. Cheers to the team for pulling this one off, beautifully. 

Malik is currently streaming on Prime video.