PremiumMalaikottai Vaaliban - Are we finally ready to see Mohanlal experiment with his roles again?
Malaikottai Vaaliban, Mohanlal's period fantasy film helmed by Lijo Jose Pellissery, which hit theatres today, has opened to highly polarising views.
Last Updated: 07.58 PM, Jan 25, 2024
Mohanlal, the Malayalam superstar, teamed up with acclaimed filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery for his latest outing, Malaikottai Vaaliban. The period fantasy film, which stars the veteran actor in the titular role, has opened to mixed reviews. Film fanatics are highly impressed with director Lijo’s making and technical aspects of the movie. The common audiences, on the other hand, are disappointed with the magnum opus and are calling it a ‘missed opportunity’.
However, the Mohanlal fans and the cine-goers who have been eagerly waiting for the superstar to try something different in his career are happy with his first collaboration with Lijo Jose Pellissery. Most importantly, the Malayalam audiences are quite excited to see him experimenting with his roles again.
Mohanlal as Malaikottai Vaaliban, the mighty hero
As you may know, Mohanlal has been going through a low phase in his career with back-to-back underwhelming projects, with some occasional highs, for the last few years. However, cinema lovers have been hoping that the veteran actor would eventually come out of his superstar status, which has been overpowering the performer in him. Well, it looks like Mohanlal is finally getting ready for experiments again, after the acclaimed courtroom drama Neru which was released in December 2023, and now with Malaikottai Vaaliban.
Yes, Malaikottai Vaaliban is quite an indulgent film, which is definitely not for all audiences. Mohanlal is playing a larger-than-life, almost mythical hero in Lijo Jose Pellissery. But Vaaliban is not the toxically celebrated leading man we have seen on the silver screen. He is a demi-God-like figure who is naive, lonely, and empty from the inside. This is the hero who has nothing left to conquer. He is a vagabond who doesn't have a family or home waiting for him, and he is engulfed by loneliness, which is often the by-product of great success. Most importantly, it was so relieving and refreshing to see a larger-than-life, heroic Mohanlal character who has nothing to do with ‘Varikkasseri Mana’.
Well, all this makes Vaaliban a daring ‘experiment’ for Mohanlal, who has been playing back-to-back tiresome mass characters for a long time. As you may know, experiments are not new for the multiple National Award winners. We have witnessed the superstar risking it all many times with some of the finest yet underrated films of his career, including Rajashilpi, Sadayam, Paadamudra, Aham, and many more. However, those risks became extremely rare after the ‘superstar’ tag was associated with his name. But Malaikottai Vaaliban, hopefully, is set to mark the beginning of a new daring phase in Mohanlal’s career.
Are we ready to see Mohanlal experiment with his roles again?
For all the cinema lovers who grew up admiring actor Mohanlal, the answer has always been a big yes. However, the polarising reviews received by Malaikottai Vaaliban suggest that there is still a long way to go. A major group of audiences still expect a Lucifer or Pulimurugan from every single Mohanlal film that hits theatres. Instead of a wholesome cinematic experience, all they want is a string of ‘mass’ adrenaline-rush moments that might bring amazing views if posted on Instagram reels.
Cinema lovers, on the other hand, are all excited to witness the superstar collaborating with more young talents. They want him to see him experiment all over again with his roles, irrespective of the success and failure, of social media’s reactions. Malaikottai Vaaliban indeed added a sense of unpredictability to Mohanlal’s career choices and suggested that the legend is set to do more challenging work. We hope Mohanlal never goes back to the limitations of a comfort zone, ever again.