Khalifa Review: A Search For Substance Beneath The Swagger

Vysakh’s Khalifa: The Ruler arrives with all the styles a big-screen Malayalam action film could ask for, Prithviraj Sukumaran at the centre,

It sounds like the kind of film made for the festive crowd, which is loud enough to celebrate, stylish enough to admire and packed with names that can make a theatre erupt.

But once the first rush settles, Khalifa leaves you wondering whether there is enough story underneath all that swagger.

Spoiler Alert:

Prithviraj plays Aamir Ali, a man drawn into a world that has already shaped his family for generations.

The film takes its time establishing that world, perhaps a little too much time.

Prithviraj looks terrific, carries the character with effortless confidence and gives Aamir the sort of screen presence that makes even the quieter moments watchable.

But the writing does not always give the actor enough to work with.

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The central idea of a man gradually becoming part of the legacy he once wanted to escape settles for the familiar rhythm of revenge, power and retaliation.

Once Aamir enters the gold-smuggling network, Khalifa becomes increasingly predictable. The protagonist has an enemy, the enemy has a network, the network attacks, Aamir retaliates, and the cycle continues.

There are some well-mounted sequences along the way, but the screenplay rarely gives the conflict a fresh emotional dimension.

That is where the film feels most ordinary.

Neil Nitin Mukesh as Harris Basheer makes an interesting Malayalam debut, but his antagonist does not have enough menace or complexity to become a truly memorable opponent.

Shammi Thilakan. Sanju Sivaram and Indrans bring weight to their scenes, while Renji Panicker is effective within the limitations of his role.

Malvika Sharma’s Fiza, however, is left with very little to do beyond being Aamir’s wife.

And the treatment of women is one of the film’s most frustrating shortcomings.

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The women in Aamir’s life, especially his mother Noor Jahan (Mohini) and his wife, exist largely within the traditional roles assigned to them, only to give him affection, comfort and a sense of home, while the men get to have ambitions, conflicts, businesses, loyalties and rivalries of their own.

The screenplay does not demand anything from its women. It does not allow them to alter the course of the story or develop independent emotional worlds.

And the most cringey part for me was Aamir’s romantic past. The dialogues and the rushed treatment of his love story felt very dated.

Technically, the film has much to admire.

Jomon T. John gives Khalifa a slick, international appearance, and the locations are used to create a sense of scale.

Vysakh clearly understands how to stage a star and how to build an entry around him. The problem is that the grandeur of the presentation exceeds the strength of the material.

Jakes Bejoy’s music works beautifully in flashes. His BGM gives several of Prithviraj’s scenes the necessary lift, particularly when the film embraces its mass appeal.

But the score is uneven, and the impact does not sustain itself across the entire film. Some action sequences, too, land well while others feel surprisingly routine for a film that has been marketed on its scale and spectacle.

The final portion is where Khalifa suddenly becomes much more interesting — not necessarily because of what happens within the film, but because of what it suggests about what comes next.

Mohanlal’s appearance as Aamir’s grandfather, Mambarakkal Ahmed Ali, is clearly designed as more than a fleeting fan moment.

Tovino Thomas also enters the picture, and the film begins to reveal the larger collection of characters that could shape the next chapter.

These cameos may feel like fan service in the context of this film, but they also make the prospect of the second part considerably more exciting.
In fact, the tail end is probably the most effective piece of franchise-building in Khalifa. It leaves you with the feeling that the filmmakers have been setting the table for something much bigger.

Whether that something can justify the wait will depend on the sequel.

For now, Khalifa remains an uneven experience. It has the star, the scale, the locations and occasional bursts of excellent staging.

Prithviraj gives the film its swagger, but the writing rarely gives him a character as compelling as the image it creates around him.

Timeline Verdict:

Stylish and ambitious, but the substance never quite catches up with the swagger.

Rating: 2.5/5

Cast:

Prithviraj Sukumaran, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Malvika Sharma, Shammi Thilakan, Indrans, Renji Panicker, Mohini, Shivajith, Sanju Sivaram, Suresh Oberoi

Crew:

Director: Vysakh
Writer: Jinu V. Abraham
Producers: Jinu V. Abraham, Suraj Kumar
Cinematography: Jomon T. John
Editor: Chaman Chacko
Music: Jakes Bejoy