Name: Khalifa: The Ruler
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Released: 2026-08-20
Duration: 2 h 39 min
Rating: 6
Cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Malvika Sharma, Mohanlal, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Indrans

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Born into a powerful smuggling dynasty, a notorious underworld leader finds his empire threatened by enemies from every side. His fight for survival soon becomes a brutal battle of power, revenge and legacy.

Accessibility through Audio Description (AD) & Closed Captions (CC) is available for this movie on the 'CineDubs' app.

Khalifa: The Ruler

Times of India

Every society eventually turns its villains into legends.
Khalifa understands this impulse better than most contemporary Malayalam commercial films. Drawing from the visual memory of Kerala's gold-smuggling controversies, writer Jinu V. Abraham and director Vysakh construct a world where crime, politics, masculinity, and legacy become inseparable.
The result is a film caught between two ambitions: exposing systems of power and celebrating the charismatic men who manipulate them.
At the centre is Mambarakkal Aamir Ali, played by Prithviraj Sukumaran with controlled intensity. Beginning as a textile merchant and evolving into a contraband kingpin, Aamir is less a man pursuing power than one surrendering to an inherited destiny. Prithviraj brings enough gravitas and vulnerability to make the transformation convincing.
Technically, Khalifa is a slick, well-oiled machine. Jomon T. John's cinematography gives the world of smuggling and political intrigue an international sheen, while Chaman Chakko's sharp editing keeps the narrative moving. Jakes Bejoy's score injects energy into every frame, and the action choreography delivers several genuinely thrilling moments. The supporting cast, including Renji Panicker, Indrans and Sanju Sivram, lends weight to the drama, while Mohanlal's appearance generates the kind of electricity only a superstar can.
Where Khalifa becomes interesting is in its contradictions. It borrows heavily from real-world political scandals, yet seems far more fascinated by the aesthetics of power than its consequences. Criminal empires are romanticized, vigilante justice is glorified, and systemic corruption becomes a backdrop for hero worship rather than meaningful critique.
The second half occasionally buckles under the weight of multiple revelations, family histories and political conspiracies. More noticeably, the film's women remain largely confined to the margins while men inherit power, shape destinies and dominate the narrative.
Yet Khalifa remains an engaging watch. It may not be the political thriller it aspires to be, but it succeeds as a stylish, star-driven spectacle. In the end, the film is less interested in dismantling power than deciding who deserves to wield it. That's both its greatest strength and its most revealing limitation.


Khalifa Glimpse -The Bloodline | Prithviraj Sukumaran | Vysakh | Jinu V Abhraham

Khalifa Trailer - Prithviraj Sukumaran | Vysakh | Jinu V Abhraham

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Khalifa: The Ruler(2026)