74. Malaikottai Vaaliban; movie review

 

MALAIKOTTAI VAALIBAN

Cert 15

154 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong violence, bloody images

I didn't expect that - a mainstream Mohanlal movie with an art-house feel.

Malaikottai Vaaliban has vivid attention to detail, employing myriad filming techniques and hundreds of extras.

It combines Indian period drama with associated traditions and Hollywood Western-style music and backdrop.

Parts of Lijo Jose Pellissery's picture feel theatrical and a throwback to past pictures, and parts are bang up-to-date with slow-motion Chinese-style action scenes.

It adds up to a movie that is sometimes fabulous and sometimes baffling.

Mohanlal plays the title character - a warrior who travels the breadth of a desert region, taking on all comers in arranged fights.

Alongside him in a Wild West-style wagon are his mentor and father figure (Hareesh Peradi) and the latter's son (Manoj Moses), who brings in the crowds with drums and chants.

However, after one such fight, he makes a sworn and psychopathic enemy (Danish Sait) who would be a nemesis he cannot shake.

One of the film's central set pieces is when Vaaliban takes on a brutal foreign district king (Andrea Ravera) and his maniacal wife (Diana Nasonova) to free their many slaves.

The battle is simultaneously epic and weird - in common with much of Malaikottai Vaaliban.

I have been critical of Mohanlal in the past because his films seemed cliched and I could not see why he was so acclaimed.

This film gave me more of a clue. There are the usual scenes of unfeasible strength, but they are combined with potent moments of pathos, and Lalletan needs to reach deep into his acting talent.

I am aware of Malaikottai Vaaliban's mixed reviews and its disappointing box office return (it is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar less than a month after its cinema release).

But Mrs W and I were hooked - probably because it looks so good and is so different.

Reasons to watch: Stands out fromn the crowd

Reasons to avoid: Baffling storyline

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Did you know? Principal photography spanned approximately 130 days from January to June 2023, covering locations in Rajasthan, Chennai, and Pondicherry. 

The final word.  Lijo Jose Pellissery: "It is not a regular mass masala movie. It has a different terrain which you don't usually see in other films." Republic World

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