Marakkar: Lion Of The Arabian Sea

Action Historical

U/A

Malayalam

December 2, 2021

3hr 1min

Status: released

Trailer, Teaser & Videos

Poster & Photos

Where to Watch Marakkar: Lion Of The Arabian Sea (Stream)

Amazon Prime Video

Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea (Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham in Malayalam, Marakkyar: Arabikkadalin Singam in Tamil) is set in the 16th century Calicut, the film is based on the fourth Kunjali Marakkar named Muhammad Ali, the admiral of the fleet of the Zamorin.
This film was Keerthy Suresh’s comeback to Malayalam cinema after a gap of seven years.
The film was shot in Malayalam and partially reshot in Tamil.
The initial plan for a film based on the admirals Kunjali Marakkar started between Priyadarshan, Mohanlal, and screenwriter T. Damodaran in 1996. Damodaran pitched a plot idea in 1999. However, the film did not materialise in Damodaran’s lifetime because of the high budget requirements, which was unaffordable for a Malayalam film at that time. Priyadarshan kept the project in mind for years, until in 2017 he proceeded with the research work. The final draft was completed by June 2018.
Principal photography took place from December 2018 to March 2019, filmed in sets created at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. It lasted 104 days and post-production took 14 months.
Four life-size ship replicas were constructed and were shot inside a water tank. The sea was completely created using visual effects. Sabu Cyril and Siddharth Priyadarshan oversaw the production design and visual effects supervision, respectively.
Production began with a budget of ₹100 crore, making it the most expensive Malayalam film to date. The original score was composed by Rahul Raj, Ankit Suri and Lyell Evans Roeder; and songs by Ronnie Raphael.
On 22 September 2019, The first teaser trailer of the film was exclusively screened at Aashirvadathode Lalettan, an event held at Gokulam Park, Kochi, organised by Aashirvad Cinemas.
The first trailer released in March 2020 was edited by Alphonse Putharen. In November 2021, a promotional event was conducted on the luxury cruise ship Nefertiti Cruise, organised in association with Jain International School of Creative Arts.
The film, originally scheduled to release on 19 March 2020, was delayed by the outbreak of COVID-19. It was then rescheduled and postponed through three more dates in March, May, and August 2021 before settling on release date by the end of the year.
The film was originally scheduled to be released on 19 March 2020, as announced in October 2019. It was then moved to 26 March by January 2020. However, it was further postponed without a release date after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. Priyadarshan said that the postponement was at the behest of exhibitors in the Gulf, particularly those across Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as the box office collection from these countries are crucial to the film’s success. In February 2021, Mohanlal told to Variety that it is a global film with an international release, so they are waiting for the COVID-19 situation to normalise, “when everything settles and people are back to the theaters, only then can we release”. The film was then rescheduled and postponed again three times in 2021: 26 March, 13 May, and 12 August.
Fans show tickets for more than 100 shows were already sold out when it postponed release in March 2020. There was a surge in COVID-19 cases in India when it was about to release in May 2021 coinciding with Eid al-Fitr. The film could not release in the Onam holidays aimed August 2021 date as the test positivity rate (TPR) in Kerala was the highest in India at that time and theatres remained closed per government order. Theatres were later allowed to run with half its seating capacity. On 6 November 2021, producer Antony Perumbavoor said that they are cancelling theatrical release and the film will have a direct-to-OTT premiere through Amazon Prime Video. Reportedly, they made a ₹90 crore deal with Prime Video for a direct-to-OTT premiere. In early November 2021, a preview show was held for Mohanlal, his wife Suchitra Mohanlal, and producer Antony in Chennai, the theatrical experience from the show changed their decision to opt for a theatrical release. On 11 November, Saji Cheriyan, minister of Kerala State Film Development Corporation announced that the film will be releasing on 2 December 2021 in theatres, which was decided after a meeting with the makers. The government also waived entertainment tax for all films releasing in Kerala until 31 December. The makers renegotiated and relaxed the deal with Prime Video to allow for a theatrical debut prior to OTT. The film’s release date coincide with the National Day holiday of the United Arab Emirates, where it premieres a day early, on 1 December 2021.
Marakkar was released on December 17 through Amazon Prime Video in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi.
Meanwhile, at the 67th National Film Awards, the film won three awards — Best Feature Film, Best Special Effects, and Best Costume Design.
The film released theatrically worldwide on 2 December 2021. It received mixed reviews and failed at the box office. The film was also shortlisted among with 35 other films for the Indian submissions for Best Feature Film category at the 94th Academy Awards.