After Bhool Chuk Maaf, Rajkummar Rao has arrived with something totally new. His latest release, Maalik, is a full-on action-packed gangster drama. Directed by Pulkit, the film takes Rajkummar out of his usual small-town boy image and throws him into the rough streets of 1980s Allahabad, where he plays a powerful gangster. The film is now in theatres and moviegoers can watch it.
Before Maalik hit theatres, social media was buzzing with claims that Maalik is a remake of Fahadh Faasil’s 2021 Malayalam hit Malik?
After watching the film, we can confirm that it’s not. Rajkummar and Manushi starrer is a completely different one.
Rajkummar Rao’s Maalik NOT A Remake
Fahadh Faasil’s Malik is a political drama about community struggles and power battles in a coastal village. But Maalik is a fictional Hindi-language crime thriller set in UP. The two films are completely different in story, tone, and setting.
Maalik is an original story written by Jyotsana Nath and Pulkit. It shows how a local gangster rises to power during the crime-filled 1980s in Allahabad. The film finally hit theatres today, July 11, 2025, and fans got to see Rajkummar Rao’s powerful new avatar.
The cast of Maalik includes big names like Huma Qureshi, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Manushi Chhillar, Swanand Kirkire, Saurabh Shukla, Saurabh Sachdeva, Medha Shankr, and Satish Badal. The cinematography by Anuj Rakesh Dhawan and the music by Sachin Sanghvi, Jigar Saraiya, and Ketan Sodha give the film a larger-than-life feel.
The film is produced by Savitri Dhami, Jay Shewakramani, and Kumar Taurani under the banners of Tips Films and Northern Lights Films.
Maalik’s Box Office Prediction
Well, Maalik is expected to struggle at the box office on opening day, even with the hype. The advance booking started on Wednesday afternoon, but didn’t show strong numbers. By Thursday night, the film had sold only about 6,500 tickets across India’s top multiplex chains (PVR, Inox, and Cinepolis).
With these figures, it’s evident that Maalik won’t get the grand opening the makers hoped for. Trade reports predict that the film might open between Rs 3 crore to Rs 4 crore at best. Some insiders believe it might be even lower, under Rs 2 crore.
For comparison, Sunny Deol’s Jaat made Rs 9 crore on its opening day, and Rajkummar Rao’s last release Bhool Chuk Maaf earned Rs 7.2 crore. Sadly, this one may not even reach half of those numbers.
This is Rajkummar Rao’s first full-on action thriller. But for the film to be a hit, it needs to earn around Rs 60-70 crore in India. Looking at the current response, this target seems tough to reach unless it picks up over the weekend.
The next few days are going to be crucial. Fans will be watching closely to see if Rajkummar Rao’s gangster story manages to turn things around or struggles to find an audience.
