Set in the rural, rusty and politically charged Allahabad of the 1980s, Maalik is a peek into the making of a dreaded gangster from a humble background with intoxication of power to rule the world.

In a north Indian village, a family reunites at their ancestral home to celebrate a new birth in the family. It’s a joyous, carefree occasion. Over the next two decades, through festivals and feasts, births and deaths, the film observes one house as it ages and falls to neglect.

Pankaj is a small-town theatre actor with dreams of making it big in Mumbai. But faced with obligations to his family, which is under a deep financial strain post the lockdown, he is forced to weigh his dreams and make a choice.

Sumit and Priyanka, an eloped couple, return to their hometown, due to the financial hardships caused by the lockdown. As Priyanka seeks to leave Sumit and return to her conservative father's home, Sumit, oblivious to this, wastes his time away.