Malang: Unleash The Madness

Direction
Story
Screenplay
Dialogues
Music

In a nut-shell:

Killer Cops & Cop Killers

Cast: Disha Patani, Anil Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur

Directors: Mohit Suri

Producer: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Luv Ranjan, Ankur Garg

There’s a killer cop hitting the headlines. And a cop killer on the prowl.

There’s good cop Michael who’s got a problem at home. And violent cop Agashe who has no one at home.

There’s Sara with a dhaaga and knots on her wrist out to live free spirited with no bandhan. And there’s like-minded Advait teaming up to untie the knots on her dhaaga, one by one.    

Director Mohit Suri weaves a variety of passions and several human frailties into his story-telling. 

But Aseem Arora’s writing is non-linear as it zig-zags between what happened on the night of December 24th and what unfolded five years ago. The two timelines help to keep the intrigue going by unveiling incidents that made Advait, Agashe and Michael into the people they seem to be today. 

It’s a forceful beginning that Suri films with Advait flexing his muscles and plunging straight away into a bone-crunching action sequence. Soon, a series of bloody killings and glimpses of the policemen are interspersed with Sara and Advait’s love story which follows a familiar path. Until something stark happens to change how you view the cops and the killer.  

A listenable title track, uninhibited romance and unbridled revenge make this a fairly absorbing watch.

There is an overdose of hippie-style living and partying with cigarettes and drugs. And when Sara and Advait want to end the partying and get serious, it offers no surprise.

It is what happens thereafter that has a few unexpected twists in store.

On the other hand, if you pause to think, there are unanswered loose ends. For instance, why would clever cops wait for five years before going after people and covering up every aspect of their crime? And, despite the twists and turns, somehow this is not an edge-of-the-seat thriller.

Also, the character of an impotent husband with a benign façade is slightly reminiscent of Mohit Suri’s serial killer in Ek Villain.

However, a few fine performances and characterisations make it interesting. Anil Kapoor shows a veteran’s ease as Agashe and Kunal Khemmu relishes the many shades he has to play as Michael. Aditya Roy Kapur’s well-developed physique helps him portray Advait adequately especially in the action scenes. And Disha Patani is a natural fit as Sara.

Verdict: For a non-linear thriller with multi-dimensional characters, Malang: Unleash The Madness gets a 3* rating.  

Killer Cops & Cop KillersMalang: Unleash The Madness