Hours ago, it was the biggest release in the history of Malayalam cinema. Directed by Priyadarshan, Marakkar was screened in thousands of theaters. Mohanlal starrer Maraikkar Lion of Arabian Sea is produced by Antony Perumbavoor under the banner of Ashirvad Productions. The film has been screened oover 4000 screens around the world. You can read the first Malayalam review of the movie:
Marakkar – The Lion of the Arabian Sea is a film that can be included in the Epic Period War Drama film category. The story of the film takes place in the 16th century. Kunjali Marakkar IV was the commander of the Samoothiri’s (Zamorin) navy. Mohanlal presents Kunjali Marakkar IV in this film. The director faced two major challenges – one is that there is not enough documentation available about this historical figure. Many of the available documents were vague or contradictory. Therefore, the imagination of the director is evident in many scenes. The director has done a great job of maximizing the return on the crores invested in the film without sacrificing the artistic value of the film at the same time.
The story of the movie has a lot in common with the plot of the movie ‘Urumi’. Both films tell the story of local freedom fighters confronting foreign Portuguese. But both films work on two levels. If Urumi was a picture with an emotional background but ‘Marakkar’ is a miracle that took on a slightly larger canvas.
The biggest positive of the film is its production design. The film’s art direction is done by Sabu Cyril, India’s greatest art director. This is the soul of the film, as he was able to recreate the events of the sixteenth century before our eyes. It goes without saying that it was his art direction that made this film so enjoyable. Sabu Cyril is the one who deserves the most praise.
As a director, Priyadarshan’s signature can be seen in every frame. Each character is given their own identity by the director. The director has drafted all the characters in a very good way. Although the characters are all great, the only thing that seemed a little rocky was the fact that the performances of many of the artists felt out of place. Many characters cannot be seen as characters, but we feel as if we are already familiar with Mukesh, Innocent and Ganesh Kumar.
Whether the film is seen as a commercial product or a work of art, the backbone of the film is Mohanlal. One of the best performances of actor Mohanlal’s career can be seen in this film. As well as a large cast in the film. It is their performance that makes the film stand out. Like Mohanlal, his son Pranav Mohanlal has done a great job in the film. The performances of Manju Warrier and Kalyani Priyadarshan have all been superb.
Special mention should be made of Kasu Nada, Sumret Mongupt and B Thyagarajan, who directed the action scenes in the film. Of course, Marakkar is a visual marvel that must be experienced more than once in theaters. It is safe to say that Enthiran was a film for Tamil cinema, Bahubali was for Telugu, KGF was for Kannada and Maraikkar was for Malayalam cinema. This is just the beginning, the first step towards a lot of upcoming big budget movies.
Marakkar Rating: 3.5/5