Malaikottai Vaaliban (Mohanlal), a fabled warrior who has never seen defeat, rides into a little-known village. His brother Chinnapaiyyan (Manoj Moses) sings songs of Vaaliban’s exploits and challenges the most powerful and worthy warrior of the village to come forward and present himself to his brother, to be squashed under the weight of his prowess and greatness. Kelu Mallan (Hariprashanth) answers the call and in his arrogance and haste, attacks Vaaliban who appears to be drunk and not in his senses. The villagers gather to witness the end of the fight and the fate of the two warriors. Surprisingly, a drunk and trembling Vaaliban swings into action like a bolt of lightning from the sky and pacifies Kelu without ever breaking a sweat. Vaaliban’s greatness is established, as is his authority in the village.
The film then delves into a brief period of romance and melody as we see Vaaliban court a beautiful princess. One night, as the two lay in bed exhausted yet satisfied, covered only by what seems to be the crimson saree of the princess, Vaaliban requests her to tell him the story of a warrior who came to a princess looking for his lost horse, courted her with burning passion but then left as he must, for he has many more challenges waiting for him in distant lands. As the princess narrates the story, we see it unfold in real-time with Vaaliban and the princess playing out the characters and realising that their fate is exactly the same. The princess was narrating a story that she knew would be the future of her brief but passionate relationship with Vaaliban.
Vaaliban, his brother, and his guru then pick up an enemy at a local entertainment house, an enemy they never knew would have a profound impact through the course of their journey. This enemy, Chamathakan (Danish Sait), then challenges Vaaliban to a fight with the champion and undefeated Mangottu Mallan (Harikrishnan S.). Vaaliban not only wins this battle but also vanquishes the age-old arena that was training fighters in what can be called a questionable code of conduct for conducting warfare. This defeat has serious implications for Chamathakan who not only loses his honour but is forced to roam the lands as part of the price to pay for having challenged and lost.
Chamathakan follows Vaaliban to his next challenge where he takes on the might of the Portuguese invaders to free the town of his birth and its citizens who have been kept as prisoners and are sold as slaves. Prevailing after a long and arduous battle, it seems as if Vaaliban has won over everything that there is to win and that his life might now have nothing to look forward to. Little did Vaaliban know that his biggest challenge was just waiting in the corners to unfold. It presents itself not as battles but as complications in relationships and the realization of secrets that are as dark as a moonless night.
The most colorful Imagery I have witnessed:
You know when you see poetry in motion. It is difficult to explain the quality quantitatively or through description. It is something that appeals to the finer sense of art and beauty within you. This motion is created in cinema, particularly through the juxtaposition of images, the duration your eyes are allowed to absorb each image, and the movement of the story, themes, and action through this motion. It is punctuated and accentuated by both atmospheric sounds and the background score. When done right, this motion sways like an evening breeze that is delightful to revisit. I have watched “Malaikottai Vaaliban” thrice already, and I have experienced this pleasure on all three occasions. The small TV screen can never make up for the spectacle that this film would have been on a larger screen, but unfortunately, it was never released in Assam, and I am forced to remain satisfied with watching the film on Disney Plus Hotstar.
The cinematography of the film reminded me of Tarsem Singh’s pictures, “The Fall,” “The Cell,” and even “Immortals.” The highly saturated and colourful quality of the images, the impeccable focus, the mind-bending imagery, the aesthetic and an accentuated portrayal of violence, and deeply rooted symbolism are all there that made Tarsem Singh’s films so distinctive. I constantly had a feeling of déjà vu, but it was never a reminder of the visual style being copied off. Everything that we see here is justified and created keeping in mind the need of the story and the impact of the presentation. If that was not enough, Lijo shows a great eye for using slow motion and focusing on certain details to further make his frames inescapably hallucinogenic. The usage of contrast through colours and designing shots in a way where the background, the foreground, and the characters interact and stand in such a way that they result in a compounded impact is something that has been a constant in Lijo Jose Pellissery films. I will sum it all up by saying that this might just be the most gorgeously shot and envisioned film that I have seen in Indian cinema ever.
Brilliantly innovative and massively mounted set:
This film progresses through its set pieces. One might feel a certain amount of disconnect as the story moves from one point to another until the final few minutes when the entire film comes together and sets up a sequel. However, unless you are someone who wants every point in the narrative tied up as we go along in the story, you will not mind the film jumping from one set piece to another, as they are all so gloriously envisioned and executed. Vaaliban’s enemies in the film get progressively stronger and his stakes rise with every challenge. Each of these challenges takes him a step closer to what was always meant to be his destiny. Each set piece feels like they are inspired by some of the great sequences of international epics, but they are tailored to the story with such efficiency and re-imagined with such conviction and attention to detail and the context of the narrative that they become whole new beasts. There is something in each of these sequences that makes them all special and worth spending your time on.
Intricately designed human drama punctuated by fantastic performances:
While the storytelling of the film may feel superficial upon the first viewing, subsequent viewings will reveal that this is an intricately designed human drama where there is more than what meets the eye for each and every character. Vaaliban, who may seem like a Hercules out for glory and bodily gratification alone, proves to be a lost soul by the end of the film. All he knows is how to beat his opponents, but his lack of a family to call his own has started taking its toll on him. In his haste to act, he ends up alienating the only people he has left to call his own. This has some interesting impacts on his persona that are beautifully brought out by Mohanlal in another fantastic performance.
Danish Sait, as a slithering enemy who is in hot pursuit of Vaaliban and does some of the most insane things that you can expect to see in a mainstream Indian film, was fantastic. His performance needs to be seen to be appreciated. His maniacal laugh reminded me of Joaquín Phoenix’s Joker. Hareesh Peradi, as Vaaliban’s father figure and coach, has the most interesting arc in the entire film. I was seriously taken aback by the turn of events that shaped his character and the path that his character takes. Nothing could prepare you for this. Sonalee Kulkarni, as the girl hopelessly in love with Vaaliban, not only looked breathtakingly beautiful but her character initiated the domino effect that ultimately brought down the world of Vaaliban. She gives her heart and soul to the character, and it shows in her rendition.
Exceptional climax that caught me by surprise:
For a film that moved from one action set piece to another, I wasn’t expecting anything short of a superhuman matchup for Vaaliban in the climax. Interestingly, the climax of this film once again underlines Lijo’s conviction in the story that he set out to tell and how effective he was in making it compelling even without any punches thrown. The kind of climax that the film provides not only disarmed me completely but also surprised me with how much I enjoyed it, even though it was nothing more than a prolonged odyssey of characters learning to live and accept realizations that make them do horrible things. Every character involved in the film has a part to play in this climax, and even the little ones cast long shadows, resulting in a culmination that is as cerebral as it is heartbreaking. Vaaliban, for the first time in the film, loses everything and yet not his vanity, as he proves with his last few words with his guru, after which we are set up for a clash of titans that unfortunately will only happen in the next film. I am intrigued, and I will be up in arms to watch this film when it is released.
Final words:
Rich in metaphors, symbolism, themes, and colours, “Malaikottai Vaaliban” is easily Lijo’s most accessible and straightforward film. Having said that, it still has enough going on to merit multiple viewings. There will be many who see it as silly, outrageous, and even clichéd for some of its elements. I understand those people. However, one has to understand that this, in many ways, is a fable or folklore story unfolding in real time. It could as well be a grandmother telling her grandchildren the stories of the mighty warrior, with the children colouring the images with their own imaginations, and us watching the story as the children perceive and enjoy it as it is being told. When you look at it from that angle, you fully comprehend some of the eccentricities of the film and are also able to accept it for what it is.
There are also moments when the story drags a little, and no matter how much I loved it, there are too many slow-motion shots. Thankfully, they are so beautifully done that I have nothing to complain about. All I want to say now is to shrug aside all the negative things that you have been hearing about this film and watch it. You will be surprised by the yarn that a fertile and creative mind can spin even with such limited resources.
Also Read: ‘The Zone of Interest’: Harrowing exploration of the erosion of humanity in the face of power