Khalifa Movie Review: Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Mass Entertainer Has Style, Swagger, But Not Enough Story

By Ram Jadhav | CinemaDose

Khalifa Movie Review Prithviraj Sukumaran and director Vysakh’s much-hyped Onam release Khalifa hit theatres on August 20, 2026, and the first wave of reviews and audience reactions are in. The verdict so far: a stylish, spectacle-heavy action entertainer that delivers on star power but struggles to bring anything genuinely new to its gold-smuggling saga.

Quick Facts Khalifa Movie Review

Where to Watch Khalifa

Khalifa is currently a theatrical-only release, playing in cinemas across India and overseas as part of the 2026 Onam festive lineup. No OTT streaming date has been announced yet going by the usual theatrical window for big Malayalam releases, an OTT premiere is unlikely before 6-8 weeks from now. We’ll update this article the moment a streaming date is confirmed, so bookmark this page if you’re planning to catch it at home instead of the theatre.

The Story

Khalifa follows Mambarakkal Aamir Ali, played by Prithviraj, who gets drawn into his family’s long history in the gold-smuggling business. His grandfather, Mambarakkal Ahmed Ali, ran a smuggling operation significant enough to have once worried Indira Gandhi’s government, a detail already teased in the trailer. The film traces how Aamir Ali inherits this legacy and the criminal empire that comes with it, with the operation reportedly stretching from the Middle East into India.

What’s Working

Reviewers are largely in agreement that Khalifa delivers on scale and star presence. Cinematographer Jomon T. John gives the film a slick, international look, using its locations to build a real sense of scale, and Vysakh clearly knows how to frame a star entry. Prithviraj himself is being singled out for his screen presence, with critics noting he carries the character with effortless confidence.

Jakes Bejoy’s background score works beautifully in flashes, particularly lifting Prithviraj’s mass moments, though the impact reportedly doesn’t sustain itself across the whole runtime. Mohanlal’s cameo is also being called out as a genuine highlight of the film.

Where It Falls Short

The bigger criticism across the board is the writing. Critics note that while the premise sets up an intriguing world, the screenplay rarely pushes the story into genuinely unexpected territory, and the broad trajectory stays fairly predictable the film’s biggest weakness.

One review sums it up as a stylish, action-packed commercial entertainer built around a mass hero, but one whose superficial treatment of its themes and unoriginal plot keep it from being truly satisfying. Pacing has also come up as a concern, with some early opinions suggesting the film runs a little too long for the story it’s telling.

Early Audience Reaction

The film opened with early shows across India and overseas on Thursday, and viewers began posting their first reactions on X soon after, though these represent only a section of the audience who caught the opening shows. A clearer picture of overall reception is expected to build over the next few days as more shows play out.

Khalifa vs Batwara 1947: A Different Kind of Festive Clash

Khalifa’s Onam release lands in the same week that Batwara 1947 and Awarapan 2 are duking it out for Independence Day box office numbers up north and the contrast is worth noting. While Batwara 1947 is a slow-burn Partition drama that had to win over audiences through word-of-mouth after a soft opening, Khalifa arrives already backed by a built-in mass following thanks to Prithviraj and a Mohanlal cameo, and doesn’t need the same kind of week-long convincing.

It’s a reminder that India’s festive box office right now is really three different conversations happening at once a Hindi actioner, a Hindi period drama, and a Malayalam mass entertainer each pulling from a different audience with a different appetite. If you enjoyed Batwara 1947 for its emotional core, Khalifa isn’t chasing the same crowd; it’s a far more straightforward, style-first outing. Read our full Awarapan 2 vs Batwara 1947 box office breakdown for how that clash is shaping up.

CinemaDose Take

Khalifa is exactly the kind of film its trailers promised loud, glossy, and built entirely around Prithviraj’s star power, with a Mohanlal cameo thrown in to sweeten the festive-season pot. Where it stumbles is in giving that spectacle a story worth remembering once the lights come back on. If you’re going in for a mass action experience over Onam, it delivers. If you wanted the gold-smuggling thriller to actually surprise you at any point, most reviews suggest you’ll be disappointed.

The most telling sign, though, might be the ending. A few reviewers have pointed out that the film gets more interesting in its final stretch not because of what happens on screen, but because of what it sets up next, hinting this could be the start of a bigger franchise play rather than a standalone story.

FAQ

When did Khalifa release? Khalifa released in theatres on August 20, 2026, as part of the Onam theatrical season.

Who plays the lead role in Khalifa? Prithviraj Sukumaran plays Mambarakkal Aamir Ali, the film’s lead character.

Is Mohanlal in Khalifa? Yes, Mohanlal appears in a cameo role that reviewers have called one of the film’s standout moments.

Is Khalifa worth watching in theatres? Early reviews suggest it works well as a stylish mass entertainer with strong visuals and star power, but falls short if you’re expecting an unpredictable, tightly written thriller.

Who directed Khalifa? Khalifa is directed by Vysakh, with the screenplay written by Jinu V. Abraham.

Watched Khalifa this weekend? Drop your rating and thoughts in the comments below did the Mohanlal cameo live up to the hype for you, or did the predictable plot let the film down? And don’t forget to share this review with a fellow Prithviraj fan who’s still deciding whether to book tickets.

Written by Ram Jadhav for CinemaDose — covering Bollywood and South Indian cinema, box office news, and new releases.