Director Major Ravi, who made Keerthichakra, Mission 90 Days, and 1971: Beyond Borders, will be assisting Priyadarshan on his upcoming epic Kunjali Marakkar: Arabikkadalinte Simham. Ravi announced the news in a video message yesterday. The former army man was talking about his upcoming directorial projects, which include a Nivin Pauly project currently in the scripting stage, along with an Aaraam Thampuran-style film being planned with Mohanlal.

The director said, "There is a Nivin Pauly film I'm planning to do. The story is ready; Benny P Nayarambalam will be scripting it. I've submitted the story to Benny already. I don't know when we'll start work on this film because I'm waiting for Nivin to finish his other projects. He has agreed to do it as soon as he is done with the Roshan Andrews' film (Kaayamkulam Kochunni). And then there's the Mohanlal film that everyone's been asking me about. At the moment he is doing Kunjali Marakkar... and this will take around a year because there's a lot of work involved. Priyadarshan is my guru and he has asked me to assist him on this film. I've agreed to join him. So I can only start my next Mohanlal film after it is completed."

Priyadarshan's film will star Mohanlal in the eponymous role of the fourth 'Kunjali Marakkar' Mohammed Ali, who was the naval chief of the Zamorin. Filming is expected to begin by November 1.

Major Ravi has worked in the past with Priyadarshan as a military consultant. He made his official, full-fledged feature film debut with Keerthi Chakra, starring Mohanlal and has made a total of five films with the actor.