Khalifa - Movie Review

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Vysakh's Khalifa: Part 1 is a gold-smuggling gangster saga that arrives with swagger, a big score and a bigger secret in its last act. It is the first of a two-part story, and you can feel the makers saving their best card for later.

Mambarakkal Aamir Ali (Prithviraj Sukumaran), is heir to a vast gold-trading empire stretching across the Middle East, London, Nepal and Kerala. His father Younus (Renji Panicker) never wanted this life for him, and Aamir himself never planned to walk into it. 

The first half takes its time with his love life, his family and the circumstances that slowly pull him back into the family business. His grandfather's smuggling legacy once worried even Mrs, Indira Gandhi, and that bloodline hangs over every frame.


Then the film changes gears. Harris Basheer (Neil Nitin Mukesh), making his Malayalam debut, emerges as Aamir's foil, while Seittuji (Suresh Oberoi) brings quiet weight as his mentor. 

Indrans and Shammi Thilakan add their familiar presence, and Malvika Sharma joins the cast. Aamir is drawn into a web of legacy, power and revenge, and the action begins in earnest.

Prithviraj is the film's biggest strength. 

Style comes to him effortlessly, and the fights give him plenty of room to own the frame. Jakes Bejoy's background score lifts every mass moment and, to my ear, deserves a better story than the one it gets. Vysakh, who plans his action blocks well, loses a little control in the last hour. 

A desert car chase feels more like a bolted-on set piece than a part of the plot.

Let me be honest. The story is predictable, and the template is one we have seen many times from the Shaji Kailas and Joshiy school of mass cinema. The writing by Jinu V Abraham never quite builds the emotional connection it keeps reaching for.

And then Ahmed Ali (Mohanlal) walks in. For a few minutes he owns the screen with such ease that the lead has to step aside. A couple of young stars add to the fun in the closing stretch, and I will not spoil it for you.

At 2 hours 39 minutes, it is a long sitting, but the star power keeps you in your seat.

The question you carry out of the film is simple. If this much aura comes from a short appearance, what will Part 2 look like when Ahmed Ali gets the full film?

Stream it on Prime Video for Prithviraj, the score and that Mohanlal moment.

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