Priyadarshan-Mohanlal film’s shoot to begin on Dec 1

After two years, the biggest names in the Malayalam industry – director Priyadarshan and versatile superstar Mohanlal – will join hands yet again when the shooting for Marakkar: the Lion of Arabian Sea, which begins at the Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad on December 1. The last time the two worked together was for the 2016 film Oppam, which was a hit.

“The schedule is such that 75 per cent of the film will be shot in the Film City, with Ooty and Rameshwaram taking the rest of the film's space,” says Priyadarshan, who resides in Chennai and shuttles between Thiruvananthapuram and Hyderabad.

The film tells the tale of Kunjali Marakkar, the famous naval chief of the Zamorin of Calicut, often known for organising the first naval defense of the Indian coast. Mohanlal, known for his flexibility and adaptability to any character, will play the key role of Marakkar, while his son and upcoming talent Pranav plays a cameo as the ‘young Mohanlal’. Keerthy Suresh, daughter of producer Suresh Kumar and yesteryear actress Maneka, also has a key role in the film.

Asked about the budget, Priyadarshan shrugs and says except that, all other things are ready. “Sabu Cyril is working on the sets and another thing that at the moment cannot be worked out is the cost factor, as the post production is going to be held abroad. The music and background score is also going to cost a bit. Hence, we decided not to think about the budget at the moment,” he adds.

The star cast includes thespian Madhu, Manju Warrier, other actors from south India and Bollywood, besides four British actors and one Chinese actor.

“The costumes are also getting ready as the star cast has been finalised. Thiru will crank the camera and this time I have decided to do another experiment and will ask three different music directors to do one song each, while a fourth one would be entrusted with an instrumental song,” says the 61-year-old veteran director who has made 91 commercial films in his close to four decade-long career.

Priyadarshan signs off by saying that the shooting will end on March 15 next year and the film will be released only in 2020 as he is going to give the maximum attention to post production work.

The film is being produced by Antony Perumbavoor, Santhosh T. Kuruvilla and CJ Roy.