Maalik (2016 film)

Plot outline

Maalik narrates their stories;A Pashtun family that escapes from the ravages of the Soviet war in Afghanistan and settles in Karachi. A Special Services Group SSG officer Major Asad (Ashir Azeem) who undergoes a personal tragedy and starts a private security company (Black Ops Pvt. Ltd) in Karachi. His SSG colleagues keep joining the company on their retirements. An idealist school master who suffers greatly under a cruel Feudal lord and settles in Karachi and finally the Feudal Lord who becomes the Chief Minister of Sindh and unleashes a reign of terror on all that cross his path. Maalik is a story of love, loyalty, honor, family value, idealism, courage and dignity against all odds, and across all sections of society from the poor and the struggling to the highest levels of wealth and power.

Cast

Filming

Shoot of Maalik commenced on September 21, 2014. Maalik is one of the largest films shot in Pakistan and had a scheduled shoot of 100 days. Entire film has been shot on location. The locations of the film are exotic and range from fields and villages of interior Sindh to rugged Mountains of Baluchistan to the corridors of power of the government. The film has been shot on 4k format, using Red and BlackMagic cameras. Extensive use of steadicam and professional drones for aerial filming has been made. Extensive props and hardware have been used in the film including multiple helicopters MI 17 and MI 35 Gunships, T 55 Tanks and C130 Hercules aircraft. Pakistan's Special Forces has provided extensive support including advanced weapons, ammunition and training to the cast and crew.

Marketing

The first look of film was revealed online in March 2015. Film's teaser trailer was released on Pakistan Independence Day, 2015 on Vimeo. Theatrical trailer of film was released on social media on March 7, 2016 followed by a final poster on March 25. Few character posters were also released at the end of same month.

Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews. Omair Alavi of The News International reviewed the film by saying: "Maalik is a film that has been produced for those who love Pakistan and want it to prosper. The film commands multiple viewing because for die-hard Lollywood fans, this ‘Hollywood’ treatment would be hard to digest. In short, Maalik leaves a lasting impression and is a must-watch." Rafay Mahmood of The Express Tribune called the film "unpolished" and "jingoistic propaganda" that "lacks coherence." He gave it rating of three out of five stars. He said: "‘Maalik’ is not a masterpiece yet isn’t something that should be missed. Watch it without any expectations and you might as well be surprised" Moayyed Jafri of The News International wrote that the film, "shows that the armed forces are learning the ropes of using mass media in paving public opinion." Sulman Ali of The Nation said "the movie is for a common Pakistani who has grudges against the country's political leaders and is waiting for a ‘miracle’ to happen." Writing in The Express Tribune, Aliza Qaisar called the film, "a cesspool of ludicrousness.".

Ban

On April 26, 18 days after releasing the film was banned by Sindh Board of Film Censor, Government of Sindh. However, the Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah intervened and asked the ministry not to issue it as it would be 'against the freedom of expression'. On April 27, The Federal Government of Pakistan has banned Maalik nationwide in a notification issued on Wednesday. In a series of tweets, Writer and Director of film Ashir Azeem strongly condemn ban on his film. On September 7, 2016 ban on film was lifted by LHC and the film was re-released on limited screens in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. The Supreme Court noticed that the (CBFC) overstepped its authority by banning the film Maalik. The Court declined watching the movie and expected the government law officer to watch the film.

Soundtrack

Malik's soundtrack consisted of Four songs by Masuma Anwar, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Sahir Ali Bagga.Lyrics were written by Imran Raza.Sahir Ali Bagga composed the Music.The Soundtrack was a hit.

All lyrics written by Imran Raza; all music composed by Sahir Ali Bagga.

Box-Office Collection

Unofficially, the estimated numbers per city for Maalik on the box-office collected:

The unofficial number adds up to 1.20 (~114K USD) crore. The numbers for the second day and how the movie fared internationally haven’t been revealed as yet.However, locally the Box Office collections for Maalik’s first weekend have been predicted to go beyond the 5 crore (476K USD) figure.

Note:- All these conversions of PKR to USD are of 27-Dec-2016.