MALANG is the story of love and revenge. Two tracks run simultaneously in the film. The flashback track shows Advait (Aditya Roy Kapur), with a disturbing family history, going to Goa for some fun. Here he bumps into Sara (Disha Patani) who has come to Goa from abroad to conquer her fears. Over drugs and running away from the police, they fall for each other. At first they decide to keep their relationship casual but things get serious. In the present day track, five years later, Advait has just got released from the jail. He's now a killing machine with rage in his eyes. As soon as he's out, he calls Inspector Anjaane Agashe (Anil Kapoor) and informs him that he's about to commit a murder.
Agashe takes it lightly at first but in no time, Advait kills a person, that too a police inspector named Victor (Vatsal Seth). Few hours later, he kills two more cops – Nitin Salgaonkar (Keith Sequeira) and Deven Jadhav (Prasad Jawade). All three work under Inspector Michael (Kunal Kemmu). He's married to Teresa (Amruta Khanvilkar) and his marriage is on the rocks. He believes in following the law and faces trouble in solving the case with Agashe, who relies on committing encounters on the spot. Both get to work before Advait can kill anyone else. In the course of his investigation, Michael begins to follow Jessie (Elli AvrRam) who he believes is connected with the case. Meanwhile, Agashe comes face to face with Advait. The latter had the opportunity to escape but he doesn't. He wilfully surrenders. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Advait (Aditya Roy Kapur) and Sara (Disha Patani) meet in Goa. They’re young, they’re good-looking, they’re in pursuit of freedom and adventure. How long before they’re bumping bodies? Those bodies, by the way, are in great shape and Vikas Sivaraman’s camera worships every curve, every bicep with the same love that it reserves for Goa’s scenic beaches.
The film however isn’t likely to do much for Goa tourism. The world of “Malang” is dark and twisted, and Suri depicts the beach state as a Wasseypur-like badlands with rampant drug use, frequent brutal killings, and widespread corruption in the police force. Think of it as the anti-Dil Chahta Hai.
The twists in “Malang” are either predictable or far-fetched. One major reveal is given away in the film’s trailer so you can see it coming from a distance. The other is what one would describe as “a bit much”. Suri is interested in themes of revenge, redemption, and especially in the notion of masculinity. That leads to an interesting and bold character reveal, but “Malang” has little room for complexity so this idea is ultimately squandered.
The tiny state of Goa has been a great destination for our filmmakers over the years. Rohit Shetty has shot and based most of his films there. Besides, there have been films where Goa played an indispensable. Then there was. Now Mohit Suri futher explores this idea with loads of madness and romance in his style in his latest flick, MALANG. So does MALANG manage to entertain and appeal to its target youth audience? Or does it fail to impress? Let’s analyse.
The film leans on its cast to do what they do best. Aditya Roy Kapur, flaunting a chest that refuses to be contained in shirts, gets multiple opportunities to flex his chiseled pecs. Disha Patani sportingly shows off her perfect toned figure. Kunal Kemmu has some interesting moments, especially the scenes with his wife, played by the reliable Amruta Khanvilkar. But expectedly it’s Anil Kapoor who’s having the most fun. As Agashe, who’s always on edge, the actor is deliciously unpredictable, while also effectively conveying his inner pain when required.
“Malang – Unleash The Madness” is far too long at nearly 2 hours and 15 minutes. The unconvincing plot simply doesn’t justify the indulgence. There are some moments that work, but by the end, I was wishing I’d stayed home sleeping on my palang rather than waste my time on “Malang”. I’m going with two out of five.
Aseem Arrora's story is decent. But it is a bhel puri of various films like EK VILLAIN [2014], MURDER 2 [2011], MARJAAVAAN [2019], RACE [2008] etc. Aniruddha Guha's screenplay ensures most scenes don’t give a strong déjà vu of any film. There’s a lot happening in the film and the script is written in such a way that it does not bore the audience. Aseem Arrora's dialogues are subtle but sharp and don’t go over the top in most places.
Mohit Suri's direction is good. There’s a marked improvement from his previous films. There’s a lot of style in his execution that gives the film a fresh and a nice touch. There are lot of characters and subplots but he joins them seamlessly. Also, often, filmmakers go the psychedelic way while showing the effects of drugs on protagonists. This has become quite clichéd now and surprisingly, Mohit doesn’t go that route at all. A few scenes are very well handled, especially the present-day scenes. But on the flipside, some developments don’t work as intended whether it’s the love story or Michael’s dilemma. Even the backstory of Advait and Sara seems half-baked.
MALANG begins on a massy note. The one-take action scene is quite entertaining. The film then goes on a flashback mode showcasing Advait and Sara’s romance. It is interspersed with the present-day thrilling portions. A few portions here stand out like Agashe interrogating the African drug dealer (this is sure to raise tons of laughs), Agashe finding Nitin Salgaonkar and of course the intermission point. Post-interval, the flashback slows down the film a bit as one is more curious to see what happens once Advait is in the clutches of the cops. There’s a solid twist in the tale and though it comes as a shocker, it is also a bit convenient.