Lijo Jose Pellissery’s hallucinatory ‘Malaikottai Vaaliban’ is a warrior story that subverts how we see warrior stories on screen

The film, divided into episodes that build into a huge reveal, stars Mohanlal as a disillusioned strongman. For lovers of cinema and this filmmaker’s unique style, it is an always-involving experience.

Once upon a time, there lived a bored warrior, “a man whose name echoes across all lands” and yet, a man who suffered from “a loss of purpose”. All he wanted was a worthy challenge, so he went from place to place in his bullock cart – with his mentor and the mentor’s son – to duel with other fierce warriors. But look at what happened the first time he sought out one such challenge! (That is, the first time we see him seeking a challenge.) The opponent was big and beefy and built like a mountain and existed on a protein-stacked diet of raw eggs, but our warrior (who appears to exist solely on arrack) blew him away like a fart. He could barely hide his boredom, his contempt – in fact, he could not even bring himself to get up from his sitting pose as he sent this opponent packing. And he must have thought to himself: “Is there no one to give me a true challenge and shake me out of my slumberous existence?”

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