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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Maalik gives Rajkummar Rao a forceful new gangster persona, but its familiar crime-story beats and thin emotional development leave the film short of a distinctive identity. Pulkit’s 2025 Hindi drama has flashes of energy; its 152-minute sprawl makes the gap between Rao’s commitment and the screenplay’s ambition hard to ignore.
What is Maalik about?
Set in late-1980s Allahabad, now Prayagraj, Maalik follows Deepak, a farmer’s son whose path leads into the underworld. His rise unfolds amid local strongmen, political power, police pressure and violent rivalries. His pregnant wife wants him to leave crime, placing family life in tension with the authority he is building. The setup promises a gangster saga about power and loyalty without needing to reveal where its betrayals lead.
Directed by Pulkit and written by Pulkit and Jyotsana Nath, the film stars Rao alongside Manushi Chhillar, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Saurabh Shukla and Saurabh Sachdeva. The Central Board of Film Certification records an A certificate dated 4 July 2025. The film opened theatrically in India on 11 July 2025.
Does Rajkummar Rao make the gangster role work?
Rao supplies the film’s strongest point of continuity. Reviewers across The Indian Express, India Today and The Times of India recognize the intensity he brings to Deepak, even as they criticize the story around him. Sana Farzeen of India Today singled out Rao’s force and darkness; Dhaval Roy of The Times of India praised his ability to balance menace with family life. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express noted his effort to create a new screen image.
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That commitment gives Deepak presence, but it cannot by itself make his trajectory surprising. The role asks Rao to move between swagger and domestic concern; the reviews suggest the screenplay does not give those shifts enough emotional depth to land with full weight. Manushi Chhillar’s role, in Farzeen’s assessment, is underwritten, limiting the family conflict’s ability to complicate the crime story.
Does the familiar gangster formula deliver?
The film’s central problem is not that it uses recognizable genre ingredients, but that they rarely combine into a fresh perspective. Gupta’s 1.5/5 review called it “too long, too dull, too by-the-numbers.” Farzeen rated it 2/5, arguing that familiar tropes and overstated style weaken its emotional reach. Roy also gave it 2/5, describing the story as convoluted and repetitive.
Rank #2
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Those judgments point to a mismatch: Maalik reaches for a grand rise-to-power saga, a family drama and a stylized action film, but its turns can feel predetermined rather than earned. The film’s marketing frames the story as “One Man’s Rise to Rule It All”; that promise of total command is more decisive than the character work the reviewers found on screen.
How are the action and craft?
The critical response is not uniformly dismissive of the filmmaking. Roy praised some action staging, along with the cinematography and score. Those elements offer texture and momentum, but spectacle does not automatically create stakes. Farzeen’s concern about limited emotional depth helps explain why violence and visual swagger may leave viewers at a distance when the characters’ inner lives are not developed as fully.
Rank #3
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The runtime compounds the issue. Listings give the film a length of 152 minutes, or 2 hours 32 minutes, and both Gupta and Roy found the experience too long or repetitive. At that length, familiar rivalries and repeated turns need meaningful development to justify their space; the reviews suggest the film does not consistently provide it.
What did critics and audiences think?
The three named reviews in the July 2025 coverage were unfavorable: Gupta rated it 1.5/5 in The Indian Express on 11 July, while Farzeen and Roy each gave it 2/5 in India Today on 11 July and The Times of India on 12 July. Rotten Tomatoes displayed a 23% Tomatometer from 13 reviews when accessed on 8 October 2026; that figure is a changing snapshot, not a permanent verdict.
Rank #4
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Audience-facing responses are more mixed and include positive reactions. BookMyShow features a substantial volume of user feedback, while Rotten Tomatoes had fewer than 50 audience ratings at the cited access date. These are different samples and can change, so neither supports a claim that every viewer—or even audiences as a whole—shares the critics’ view.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is Maalik worth watching?
Consider it if you are drawn to Rao’s intensity, enjoy stylized gangster dramas, or are willing to spend a long evening with a familiar rise-to-power story. If you want a sharply original crime narrative or a deeply developed family conflict, the critical reservations are a good reason to look elsewhere. The film’s strongest case is Rao’s force; its weakest is the material that asks that force to carry.
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Maalik was released theatrically on 11 July 2025. Rotten Tomatoes listed Prime Video as a viewing option when accessed on 8 October 2026, but streaming availability varies by country and date; check the service in your region.
Quick Recap
Sources
- Central Board of Film Certification — certificate metadata, synopsis and cast.
- The Indian Express — Shubhra Gupta’s review, 11 July 2025.
- India Today — Sana Farzeen’s review, 11 July 2025.
- The Times of India — Dhaval Roy’s review, 12 July 2025.
- Rotten Tomatoes — review aggregate and regional viewing listing.
- BookMyShow — listing, runtime and audience feedback.
- Tips Films official teaser — promotional description and positioning.
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