Shibu Baby John has restated that there will not be a follow-up to Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Malaikottai Vaaliban. Speaking in a recent YouTube interview, the politician and co-producer said the Mohanlal-led period drama was conceived as a single film and would remain that way.

According to him, the director’s pitch was approved by Mohanlal almost immediately, and the team started work under that understanding. He acknowledged that the script underwent deviations during production owing to unforeseen hurdles, which at one stage prompted a discussion on splitting the narrative. He clarified that both he and Mohanlal declined the idea and insisted on releasing the film in the format in which it was first imagined. Though the ending was tweaked late in the process to leave narrative room for a continuation, a sequel is not being pursued.

Shibu also addressed the chatter around the film’s reception. He said the film entered theatres with rare levels of expectation due to the Mohanlal-Lijo combination and that this anticipation shaped the response. He reiterated that Malaikottai Vaaliban is neither a creative embarrassment nor a financial wash-out in their eyes, only a film that did not align with the hype built around it.

Malaikottai Vaaliban, released in 2024, is an epic action drama directed by Lijo from a screenplay by P S Rafeeque. On release, the film drew mixed responses. Reviewers commended the staging, scale, visual vocabulary and Mohanlal’s performance while criticising the pace and tonal inconsistencies of the narrative. Industry trackers labelled its theatrical run a failure. Although the end credits teased a sequel and the director himself hinted at the same before release, the producer’s fresh statement shuts the door on a continuation.