Maalik Ek Review

The movie MAALIK EK  is directed by Deepak Balraj Vij and produced by Kishori Shahane under the banner of Om - The Mantra. Jackie Shroff plays the lead role of Sai Baba. The movie also stars actors like Divya Dutta who plays Laxmi and Shakti Kapoor playing Kulkarni, Smriti Irani plays Dwarkamai, Anup Jalota enacts the role of Das Ganu.  Zarina Wahab plays the role of Shanti who is Prahlad's Mother, Givind Namdeo is also present in the film.

MAALIK EK is specifically a biography i.e. a movie that encompasses the life of a fakir baba – The Sai Baba of Shirdi. It shows the miracles performed by him and how he made substantial differences in the lives of many people especially when they saw no ray of hope. The movie begins with a scene where Sai baba is shown asking alms door to door and in the immediate following scene he is shown as a renowned saint- too quick isn't it? The movie is narrated by Dwarkamai i.e. Smriti Irani.

Who could've ever imagined Jackie Shroff- the one person who is always associated with roles of a tapori to play a character this divine? You may even doubt his capabilities...but, mind you he has played the role with precision. At times, you may even mistake him to be the seer. This is how much of life he brings in the character he has played. The roles played by other well known yesteryear actors like Zarina Wahab, Vidya Sinha and Ranjeeta are simply inconsequential!

The music score is done by Anup Jalota and Jaideep Choudhary. The songs are sung by singers such as Jagjit Singh, Pankaj Udas, Ghulam Ali and they themselves are the music directors. In the movie you may find that the songs are way too much and creates an obstacle in the flow of your understanding. It consists of spiritual songs like Saare Jagat Mein, Sai Baba Achche, Ya Ali Ali, Sai Baba Geet Sudha. What you may find absolutely stupid is the presence of an item number even in a devotional movie like this.

The movie is written by Deepak Balraj Vij and its good. It is portrayed in a manner that is simple and easy to understand. The only problem is that it consists of too much commentary which may distract you or even irritate you. There is a particular scene where Baba is shown giving 9 silver coins to Laxmi but what is the importance of those coins or what does it imply is not actually explained. People who were Baba's ardent enemies such as Das Ganu or the British officer are seen becoming his followers in a blink. The miracles are quite lame like say people who are shown having a change of heart of something like that nothing concrete.

The direction by Deepak Balraj Vij is average. Many a times the camera goes out of focus. The story telling capability of the director is seriously deficient. Even the dialogues don't sync well with the lip movements of the characters. The special effect of the movie too fails to appeal. The message of secularism which was first put forth by Sai Baba is very effectively portrayed in the movie. Maybe the requirement of current scenario was well thought by the makers and hence the emphasis on secularism!

A particular scene where all the devotees/ followers of Sai Baba begin fighting amongst themselves questioning the religious affiliation of Sai Baba is certainly something to look for. A dispute among all of his followers of his antecedents whether he is a Hindu or Muslim is what leads to this situation where Sai Baba then explains the importance of unity among men. It is where he teaches them there is no difference in between Gods and that there is just 'One God' which is in fact the summary of the entire movie – MAALIK EK. 

The movie is a definite watch for those who are ardent followers or even those who would want to have an insight about the life of the great fakir otherwise if you have watched previous movies on Sai Baba you may not watch the movie.