Malaikottai Vaaliban is probably one of the most polarizing films of the year 2024. There is a percentage of people who enjoyed and loved the subtext and the nostalgia that came with this fantasy fiction story. While another group criticized the story for not matching up to the visuals of the film. Lijo Jose Pellissery is known for delivering different kinds of stories, and every film of his has belonged to a different genre. Fantasy fiction is the genre of the film, and Lijo Jose has tried hard to make sure his ideas are executed well. Malaikottai Vaaliban is the story of a wrestler who travels across the country, facing challenges and winning many wrestling bouts.
Spoilers Ahead
Who Was Malaikottai Vaaliban?
Malaikottai Vaaliban was a famed wrestler with unimaginable strength who traveled across the country accompanied by two people who constantly praised him. As per Ayyanar, Vaaliban’s adoptive father and mentor, the man had won many wrestling bouts, and he could take on people of any strength. Ayyanar’s son, Chinnapaiyyan, also accompanied them through their travels. The village they reached had a designated wrestler who was defeated by Vaaliban. The defeat of the village wrestler was a big deal, and Vaaliban’s name was forever etched in the memory of the villagers while the man moved forward.
Vaaliban, along with the two men he could trust, were wanderlusts who traveled across the country without worrying about falling in love. Vaaliban had one prominent lover who fell in love with his sporting antics, but she never begged him to stay back. Vaaliban may have fallen in love with her too, but he knew his profession did not allow him to live in one place.
Why Was Chamathakan Livid At Vaaliban?
During his travels, Malaikottai Vaaliban came across an exquisite dancer Rangarani, whose performances captivated men. While performing, Rangarani was attacked and harrased by Chamathakan, a lunatic soldier. Chamathakan, whose name means Hyena, always looked for avenues to cause trouble, and interrupting Rangarani’s dance was one of them. Vaaliban had Chamathakan thrown off the stage for misbehaving with a woman. Chamathakan considered this an insult and challenged Vaaliban to fight the wrestler of his village to showcase his strength.
Chamathakan planned a fight that involved repercussions for whichever wrestler lost. Chamathakan would be shaving his head and mustache in half if Vaaliban won the wrestling bout. There was no end to Chamathakan’s envy when he had to witness Vaaliban defeating the wrestler from his town. Chamathakan stayed true to his promise but decided to shadow Malaikottai Vaaliban and his small entourage, which was now joined by Chinnapaiyan’s love interest, Jamanthi. Malaikottai Vaaliban did not have any arrogance about his win, which made his opponents angry. Chamathakan now became one of them, and there was no end to his urge to eliminate his sworn nemesis.
Why Does Vaaliban Fight The Portuguese In His Hometown?
It was soon understood that the story of this film was set during the colonial period. Malaikottai Vaaliban came back to his town, Malaikottai. Vaaliban claims to have left the town in despair while making a vow that he would free his village from the grip of the Portuguese powers. The Portuguese powers had enslaved many of their fellow townspeople and treated many inhumanely. Vaaliban, as promised, was back to save his people, and he challenged the Portuguese leader in charge of the province to fight him to death. As the challenge was accepted, Chamathakam was present in the crowd and began to hatch plans that would put Vaaliban on the back foot. He was successful in doing so by injecting poison that dazed Vaaliban and affected his decision making skills during the fight with the Portuguese leader and his wife. Sadly, Malaikottai Vaaliban was defeated, and along with him, his sea of supporters in the town were arrested as well.
It was the next day that Rangaraani’s friend Thenamma released many prisoners who moved forward to eliminate the Portuguese army. Vaaliban was able to free himself from the massive shackles, which showcased his immense strength, making everyone wonder if he was human after all. The local townspeople outnumbered the Portuguese, who had guns and many other heavy instruments off war. Vaaliban eventually vanquished the foreign power in the town, but the victory was shrouded by a firework store that burst into flames, which severely burned Chamathakan’s face.
Was Vaaliban The Father Of Jamanthi’s Child?
After the Portuguese’s defeat, Malaikottai Vaaliban, along with Ayyanar, Chinnapaiyan, and Jamanthi, reach a temple town to celebrate a holy festival. Jamanthi confesses to being pregnant with Chinnapaiyan’s child to Vaaliban. He was happy at the news and agreed to Jamanthi’s plan of informing his brother after the temple festivities. Rangarani, who had confessed her love for Vaaliban only to have her advances rejected, misheard the conversation between the two. Rangarani was under the impression that Vaaliban rejected her for Jamanthi. She did not mean to create any rift in the family, but her assumptions based on her knowledge of the conversation could have bad consequences. Vaaliban was not Jamanthi’s child’s father, but Rangarani wondered if there was any truth to that claim.
Why Did Thenamma Try To Create A Rift Between Vaaliban And His Brother?
Thenamma was loyal to Rangarani and could not bear the sight of her friend being upset over a broken heart. Thenamma was sure Vaaliban lied about his unavailability. She claimed the man was in love with Jamanthi and probably would want to fight with his adoptive brother to win her over. These words caused further doubts in Rangarani’s mind, and she conveniently chose to hear only certain parts of the conversation. Thenamma deliberately fed lies to Chinnapaiyyan about Jamanthi’s pregnancy and the child’s parentage. Chinnapaiyyan was young and gullible, ended up believing Thenamma’s words, and vowed to kill his brother. Thenamma only tried to bring some happiness into Rangarani’s life by making sure Vaaliban would not pine for Jamanthi. Thenamma’s words, which caused a rift, would have long-term effects that would change the trajectory of his life.
Who Kills Jamanthi And Chinnapaiyyan?
Chamathakan followed Vaaliban’s entourage to the temple’s festival as well, with the sole objective of ruining the man mentally before physically assaulting him. Chamathakan aimed to finish Vaaliban, and that was only possible by hurting his people. He wanted to prove he still carried some power, and that Vaaliban’s physical strength would never come to his rescue. Chamathakan was aware of Ayyanar and constantly threatened him with that piece of information. Ayyaanar also confirmed there would be an attempt on Chinnapaiyyan’s life, and he wondered if Vaaliban would ever dare to do anything that might tear the family apart.
Matters escalated quickly when Jamanthi and Chinnapaiyyan were killed in the temple procession by Chamathakan, a truth that Vaaliban was aware of. He could sense the presence of nemeses. Chamathakan was responsible for having no family, but Ayyanar was not ready to believe his adoptive son’s words. Vaaliban had no reason to kill his brother and sister-in-law, but Ayyanar was carried away by the false narrative fed either by Thenamma or Chamathakan. There was also a possibility that Ayyaran was hiding a secret, which made him believe that an orphan like Vaaliban had it in him to kill his son.
Who Was Vaaliban’s Real Father?
Ayyanar, during Jamanthi and Chinnapaiyan’s funeral, declared war against his adopted son, Malaikottai Vaaliban. Vaaliban was not keen on fighting against his mentor because he did not want Ayyanar to face defeat. There was a strict guru-shishya tradition, and defeating his guru would be blasphemy for Vaaliban, who had nothing but respect for his mentor. This was not any training session but a full-fledged clash of titans that would possibly be witnessed by many. Ayyanar was indeed livid at Vaaliban and revealed the real story behind his parentage.
Vaaliban was the son of Ayyanar’s nemesis. Vaaliban was raised in such a manner that he would finally stand up to fight against his biological father, a hard task. Vaaliban being an orphan was a false story concocted by Ayyanar to raise the son of his enemy and create an existential crisis for both. Vaaliban’s biological father was a wrestler with superhuman capabilities who had stolen Ayyanar’s wife away. There was no indication if Vaaliban’s mother willingly left Ayyanar or was forced to live as his rival. Ayyanar planned to pit the father against the son, who would eventually fight to death. Any of the deaths between the two would be devastating for either of them. Ayyanar’s plan to finish the legacy of his nemesis’ family would be fulfilled. He wanted to take revenge against Vaaliban’s father.
Malaikottai Vaaliban ended with Ayyanar sharing this anecdote with Chamathakan, and the latter was excited to bring someone who would defeat Vaaliban. To his shock, Ayyanar poisoned Chamathakan because he never wanted this piece of information about Vaaliban’s parentage to ever come out. Chamathakan could betray Ayyanar as well, and the old man could not take the risk. Vaaliban, on the other hand, could transform himself into a giant. He confronted a gigantic man whom he didn’t know. It is assumed the other giant figure could be his father, and he could possibly share some of his transformative powers with his son, who could be Vaaliban. There was no conflict at this point between the supposed father-son duo, but this confrontation sets the scene for a sequel. There is some anticipation about the famed father-son wrestling match that Ayyanar was looking forward to.
