No wrestler's story is complete sans arenas and great rivals. And director Lijo Jose Pellissery is too good to get this wrong.
Hence, he ensured a visual delight for filmgoers by pitting Mohanlal's Malaikottai Vaaliban against two mighty rivals -- Kelu Mallan and Mangottu Mallan. While their duel with the lead character ensured an adrenaline rush for the viewers, the two never crossed each other's paths in the movie. Yet, a video of the two facing off has gone viral on the internet.
The video from the 'Malaikottai Vaaliban' shows Hariprashanth Varma, who played Kelu Mallan playfully locking horns with Harikrishnan S, who made his debut by portraying Mangottu Mallan.
The duo cheerfully flex their muscles before the camera briefly. While Varma was in the character costumes, Harikrishnan donned plain clothes Hariprashanth Varma, a giant among men, looks physically superior to Harikrishnan, a professional martial arts trainer.
The Instagram video then showed the two men standing facing each other, before Harikrishnan asked Varma to try and unsettle him. Varma, best known for his roles in 'Aadu 2' and 'Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam', firmly pushes the martial artist with both his arms in an effort to drive him back. Surprisingly, Harikrishnan holds his ground, not going even an inch back until Varma gives up. The viral video, which has gained over 10k reactions on Instagram during the time of compiling this report, ends with Varma applauding Harikirhsnan and the two men shaking hands.
WATCH THE VIRAL VIDEO HERE:
Alappuzha native Harikirhsnan runs Kalaripayattu academies across Kerala. He was reportedly selected to play Mangottu Mallan after his Instagram content got the attention of the 'Malaikottai Vaaliban' crew. The 28-year-old entered the Guinness Book of Records in 2019 by chopping off 61 pineapples placed on the heads of people in 30 seconds. Harikrishnan's Kalarippayattu academy was hailed by Bollywood star Vidyut Jammwal for its efforts to propagate the Indian martial art.
The much-anticipated Malayalam movie 'Malaikottai Vaaliban' was released on Thursday. The movie featuring Danish Sait, Harish Peradi and others alongside Mohanlal, is running successfully after a reported first-day collection of Rs 5.8 crore across Kerala.
'Malaikottai Vaaliban', named after the protagonist, is a fantasy-drama action flick that follows the journeys of a champion wrestler.