Actor Kabir Singh Duhan made an impact in the 2024 actioner Marco, opposite Unni Mukundan. He is back again with another big-budget action film, titled Kattalan, co-starring Antony Varghese and directed by debutant Paul George. The film had a special premiere on Wednesday in Mumbai, ahead of its theatrical release today. It brings Kabir back together with his Marco producer Shareef Muhammed of Cubes Entertainments. Alongside Kabir, actors such as Parth Tiwari, Raj Tirandasu, and Harishankar Narayanan attended the premiere.
The film is billed as a big-budget action thriller, featuring music by B Ajaneesh Loknath and KGF fame Ravi Basrur and stunt choreography by Kecha Khamphakdee, known for his work in the Ong-Bak franchise.
Speaking about the film's scale, Kabir Duhan Singh stated, "Malayalam cinema has mastered the art of delivering high-quality films on limited budgets, and Kattalan is a great example of that. We truly gave our blood and sweat to this film, and I believe that effort is visible on screen. Whether it’s my performance, Parth’s, or Antony’s, this film stands apart in all our careers. We all got injured while shooting the action sequences, but when you put that level of commitment into a project, you hope audiences appreciate it. Thankfully, that appreciation has come."
Kattalan marks another appearance in a violent action film for Parth Tiwari after Kill. Speaking about the difference between both films, Parth stated, "Kill was raw, rustic, and fast-paced, with long action sequences shot without cuts, while Kattalan is much more style-oriented. The characters are emotionally very different as well, and working on this film taught me new things that are already helping me in my upcoming projects."
On the other hand, discussing the film's unique selling proposition, actor Harishankar Narayanan added, "The USP is the elephants, and we’re waiting for audiences to watch the film and tell us what they think. My character comes from Madurai, so there wasn’t much Malayalam for me to speak. Once we understood the dialogues, the focus was on delivering the right emotions."
About its commercial appeal, Raj Tirandasu said, "It’s all about action. Audiences today want a good film, irrespective of whether it’s Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, or Hindi. If the content is good, people will come to theatres. Tamil and Malayalam are quite similar, so we were given the dialogues along with their meanings, practised them thoroughly, and came to the set fully prepared."
The film also stars Sunil, Jagadish, Dushara Vijayan, Anson Paul, and Siddique, among others.
