Directed by: Lijo Jose Pellissery
Written by: P. S. Rafeeque
Produced by: Shibu Baby John,Achu Baby John,Kochumon Century,Jacob K. Babu,Vikram Mehra,Siddharth Anand Kumar Mohanlal
Starring: Mohanlal
Cinematography: Madhu Neelakandan
Edited by: Deepu S. Joseph
Music by: Prashant Pillai
Production companies: John & Mary Creative,Century Films,Maxlab Cinemas and Entertainments,Yoodlee Films,Amen Movie Monastery
Distributed by: Century Films
Release date: 25 January 2024
Country: India
Language: Malayalam
Malaikottai Vaaliban, which means ‘Hero of Malaikottai,’ is a new action movie from India in Malayalam. Lijo Jose Pellissery directed it, and P. S. Rafeeque wrote the story. It’s the first movie made by John & Mary Creative and other production companies like Century Films, Maxlab Cinemas and Entertainments, Yoodlee Films, and Amen Movie Monastery. Mohanlal is the leading actor, and Prashant Pillai made the music.
They took about 130 days, from January to June 2023, to film in places like Rajasthan, Chennai, and Pondicherry. The movie will appear in theatres worldwide on January 25, 2024, during the Republic Day weekend.
Cast
- Mohanlal as an unnamed nomadic wrestler
- Sonalee Kulkarni as Murugurukathi
- Hareesh Peradi as Kelu Mallan[1]
- Danish Sait as Karamba Tholaar
- Manikandan R. Achari as Thamaran
- Hariprashanth Varma as Porashari Mallan
- Katha Nandi as Madhanagi
- Andrea Ravera as Maharaj Macaulay
- Rajeev Pillai as Veejera Mallan
- Manoj Moses
- Sanjana Chandran
- Suchithra Nair
Production
Development
On October 25, 2022, a new production company called John & Mary Creative, led by former minister Shibu Baby John, announced their first movie. It’s unique because it brings together director Lijo Jose Pellissery and actor Mohanlal for the first time. They revealed the title on December 22. Reports said it’s a historical movie where Mohanlal plays a wrestler. P. S. Rafeeque wrote the story, and Pellissery returned most of the team from his previous film. Tinu Pappachan was also there as the associate director.
According to John from John & Mary Creative, the movie is full of action. A few other production companies are involved, too, like Century Films, Maxlab Cinemas and Entertainments, Yoodlee Films, and Amen Movie Monastery.
Casting
Pellisserry said they needed someone as experienced as Mohanlal for this old-fashioned movie. In November 2022, they talked to Radhika Apte about being the main female character. They also considered having Vidyut Jammwal and Rajpal Yadav in the film.
In December, Danish Sait, a Kannada actor and comedian, said he’d be in the movie. He even changed his usual look for the role. Sonalee Kulkarni, a Marathi actress, also joined, calling the film a ‘musical period drama.’
In January 2023, there were talks with Tamil actors Kamal Haasan and Jiiva for more minor roles, but Haasan decided not to join because he was busy with another movie. Rishab Shetty, a Kannada actor, said he didn’t take the role because he wanted to be in a Kannada film.
Surprisingly, Mohanlal took on another role in the movie, a role that was first meant for either Haasan or Shetty. Sanjana Chandran, a dancer and transwoman, got a part in the film, too, starting her acting career. They also cast Hareesh Peradi, Manikandan R. Achari, and Rajeev Pillai, but they didn’t say what roles they’ll play.
Filming
Filming for the movie started with a special ceremony on January 18, 2023, in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Madhu Neelakandan was the camera person. Most of the filming happened in Rajasthan. They moved to Pokhran, Rajasthan, on February 24 for more shooting. After 77 days, they finished the Rajasthan part in early April.
Then, they planned the next part of filming at Sree Gokulam Film Studios in Chennai. They wanted to shoot there for 40 days, starting in early May. They used sets they built for the movie. They had more than 1500 people helping as extras on set. They also filmed in Pondicherry. This part of the shooting lasted for 50 days, and they finished on June 13, 2023. Altogether, they took about 130 days to finish filming the whole movie.
Music
The music in the movie, including the background music and songs, was made by Prashant Pillai, who often works with Pellisserry. P. S. Rafeeque, the screenwriter, wrote the song lyrics too.
Release
In June 2023, John said they hadn’t decided when the movie would come out but planned to release it by the end of 2023. Then, in September, they declared the film would hit theatres everywhere on January 25, 2024, during the Republic Day weekend. Besides Malayalam, they’d translate and show it in Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, and Tamil.
