It was jointly produced by John & Mary Creative, Century Films, Maxlab Cinemas and Entertainments, Saregama and Amen Movie Monastery.

Malaikottai Vaaliban, an undefeated aged drifting warrior, establishes himself as a hero reigning over a vast desert region.

Vaaliban proceeds to Adivaarithur for his next fight, where they encounter a lady named Jamanthipoovu, who limps in front of them and requests for a ride on their cart since she cannot walk.

Angered and humiliated, Chamathakan challenges Vaaliban to a fight in his village, Mangodu, against their most powerful fighter, Mangottu Mallan.

Meanwhile, Vaaliban returns to Ambathoor Malaikottai, where he began his journey, and challenges the Portuguese fighter king, Macaulay Maharaj, to take over his reign.

However, Chamathakan, seeking vengeance, poisons Vaaliban before the fight with Maharaj and surprisingly Lady Macaulay as a duo, temporarily blinding him, which leads to him being captured by the Portuguese soldiers.

Hearing this, she becomes heartbroken and reveals this to Thenamma, who starts scheming evil things in her mind and promises to help her make Vaaliban fall in love with her.

[18] In December, Kannada actor and stand-up comedian Danish Sait confirmed that he would make his Malayalam cinema debut in the film, growing a beard for his role, which contrasts with his typical clean-shaven appearance.

Pellissery discovered Kulkarni from a Marathi film, Natarang (2010), where she played a lavani dancer, which she performs in Malaikottai Vaaliban as well.

[29] Malayali dancer Manoj Moses secured an important role,[30] as did Bengali actress Katha Nandi, who described her part as a "strong female character".

[34] Television actress Suchitra Nair was cast by Pellissery after he spotted her on the Malayalam reality TV show Bigg Boss (season 4), marking her film debut.

Screenwriter P. S. Rafeeque also contributed the lyrics for all songs, except "Madabhare Naina" by Preeti Pillai and "Shabnami" by Varun Grover.

The soundtrack album, distributed by the record label Saregama, was preceded with three singles: "Punnara Kattile Poovanatthil",[49] "Raakk"[50] and "Madabhara Mizhiyoram".

[56] In November 2023, the makers of the film collaborated with a United Kingdom-based company to release a DNFT (Decentralized Non-Fungible Token) of Malaikottai Vaaliban, offering an alternative to the centralised NFT.

[57] In December 2023, a book titled The Making of Malaikottai Vaaliban, authored by Toby T. Arnold, was published in both paperback and Kindle editions.

[60] The European distributor RFT Films organized various events in the United Kingdom under the name of Vaaliban Festival, including fan meets and club nights.

The makers partnered with the online food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy to promote the film among their customers in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Sanjith Sridharan of OTTplay gave 4/5 stars and concluded, "Lijo Jose Pellissery's Malaikottai Vaaliban is a movie made keeping in minds fans of cinema – and not that of a superstar.

With action and enough entertainment to keep the audience of the commercial cinema hooked, this visually-rich Malayalam period drama is another great addition to Lijo's filmography and presents a memorable character for Mohanlal, who is in top form".

[68] Arun Antony of Deccan Herald gave 4/5 stars and wrote "Lijo impresses with a fictional period drama.

The film offers a glimpse of what Lijo will bring to the table next but may not cater to Mohanlal fans seeking action and powerful dialogues.

"[69] S. Devasankar of Pinkvilla gave 3/5 stars and wrote, "Malaikottai Vaaliban is indeed a bold attempt in the fantasy genre by Lijo Jose Pellissery, a director known to keep experimenting with his films.

Despite its flaws, Malaikottai Vaaliban is worth watching in theaters, especially for Madhu Neelakandan's cinematography and Prashant Pillai's music".

[70] Gopika Is of The Times of India rated 3/5 stars and wrote "Lijo Jose Pellishery's Malaikottai Vaaliban is a mixed bag of swift and interesting action scenes, epic frames, peppy songs and quite some lag in the first half.

While the basic story line, when you take Valiban out of the equation isn't very original or even well defined, there are very interesting elements adding layers to it.

"[71] Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express gave 3/5 stars and stated, "Unlike Mohanlal's recent films, where makers often got carried away by either his stardom or his potential as a performer, Lijo Jose Pellissery's multi-genre movie strikes a fine balance between these aspects, while striving not to compromise on its overall quality".

[72] K. Janaki of India Today gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote, "'Malaikottai Vaaliban' could have been a crisp film had the narrative had enough meat in the first half.

"[74] Nirmal Jovial of The Week gave 1.5/5 stars and wrote "Pellissery decided to create a film that is purposefully made slow.

[76] Arjun Menon of Film Companion wrote "Lijo Jose Pellissery breaks down an epic hero's journey that's not afraid to breathe and take its own daring formal liberties.

"[79] S. R. Praveen of The Hindu wrote "Filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery tries something new with the Mohanlal-starrer, and the cinephile in him is on ample display with nods to yesteryear classics, but what we are finally left with is an underwhelmed feeling".