Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran's Khalifa hit theatres this Thursday, as one of the two big Onam releases. The film has brought Prithviraj back together with director Vysakh after 2010's Pokkiri Raja. The initial response to the film has been mostly negative.

Several audiences criticise the 'generic' and 'familiar' nature of the story, as well as the lack of emotional connection in it. Some of them also point out a lack of cohesion in the screenplay, especially on a scene-to-scene basis. The general consensus among the initial audience is that the film is an average fare at best, although it has failed to live up to their expectations. However, some reviews also call it one of Vysakh's best films as well as praise the Mohanlal cameo and the technical work, especially Jakes Bejoy's music. Interestingly, there are unexpected cameos in the film as well.

Besides Prithviraj and Mohanlal, Khalifa also stars Neil Nitin Mukesh, Malavika Sharma, Sanju Sivaram, Don Michael, Anand Manmadhan, Renji Panicker, Shine Varghese, Shammi Thilakan, Indrans, Kyraa, Master Nafash, and Mohini, among others. The film tells the story of a gold smuggler, played by Prithviraj Sukumaran.

It marks Prithviraj's third film this year. Earlier in 2026, he made a cameo appearance in his Jana Gana Mana director Dijo Jose Antony's Pallichattambi, co-starring Tovino Thomas and Kayadu Lohar, among others. Then, Prithviraj played the lead role in i, Nobody, directed by Nissam Basheer of Kettiyollaanu Ente Maalakha (2019) and Rorschach (2022) fame and co-starring Parvathy Thiruvothu.

Both Pallichattambi and i, Nobody failed to perform as well as expected in theatres, reportedly grossing around 15 crore each, according to Sacnilk data. Meanwhile, i, Nobody is set for its digital premiere on August 25 on JioHotstar.

Now, it remains to be seen how Khalifa will fare at the box office. As reported earlier, its makers plan a prequel featuring Mohanlal's character in a full-length role.