Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea


Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea is a 2021 Indian Malayalam-language epic historical action drama film directed by Priyadarshan. Set in the 16th century Kozhikode, the film is based on the fourth Kunjali Marakkar named Muhammad Ali, the admiral of the fleet of the Zamorin. Priyadarshan scripted the film with Ani I. V. Sasi. The film is produced by Antony Perumbavoor's Aashirvad Cinemas. Marakkar features Mohanlal as Marakkar and Pranav Mohanlal as young Marakkar in the titlular roles, with ensemble cast consisting of Arjun Sarja, Suniel Shetty, Prabhu, Ashok Selvan, Nedumudi Venu, Mukesh, Siddique, Manju Warrier, Keerthy Suresh, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Suhasini Maniratnam, Innocent, Mamukkoya, Hareesh Peradi, Santhosh Keezhattoor and K. B. Ganesh Kumar. In the film, upon being terrorised by an oppressive Portuguese regime, legendary naval chieftain Kunjali Marakkar IV wages an epic war against the Europeans and their allies. This film was Keerthy Suresh's comeback to Malayalam cinema after a gap of seven years and the Malayalam debut of Ashok Selvan.
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.
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. 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 became a box office bomb.

Plot

During the late 1500s, the empire of Portugal allies with the kingdom of Kochi in Malabar, Kerala. This is in order to colonise the region by overthrowing the powerful kingdom of Kozhikode, a long time war rival of Kochi. Portuguese military commander Alfonso de Noronho trains Kochi soldiers to use firearms and offers them cannons in exchange for trading crops and spices. However, the Malabar natives are displeased with the new Cartaz license system they've established which impedes trade with the Arabs. Kuttiyali Marakkar, an influential merchant, finds a way to trade while bypassing Portuguese customs laws, but he's sold out by his brother-in-law Moidu who is allied with Alfonso.
In the past, Kuttiyali and his sons, Kutti Poker Ali and Pattu Marakkar, were commanders of the Kozhikode navy and helped resist Portuguese rule, but they resigned and became merchants after Poker died in battle. In the present, Poker's son Muhammad Ali is newly married to Aisha, his childhood sweetheart. However she, Muhammad's mother, and Kuttiyali are all killed that night by Alfonso in a raid. Kochi's king frames it as a civil massacre and blames Muhammad and Pattu, who had survived and escaped. In retaliation, the two assassinate Moidu and manage to flee by raft, but a storm causes them to land in Ponnani, Kozhikode. There they start a new life and meet the kingdom's military commanders, the arrogant and spoiled Achuthan, and the compassionate Anandan. Muhammad speaks against Achuthan for disrespecting him, but Anandan stops them from fighting. The king's associate and right-hand warrior Mangattachan distributes supplies to the storm's victims, but the corrupt nāduvāzhi Namathu Kurup hoards them to sell in market, and his men assault Pattu for calling him out. In retaliation, Muhammad recruits a bandit named Thangudu and his crew to rob Kurup's goods and distribute them to civilians. They perform many raids against corrupt noblemen and Muhammad takes up the mantle of Kunjali Marakkar, a protector of the people but fugitive to the kingdom.
Many years later, Marakkar's gang engage in guerilla warfare against Portuguese vessels, and on one raid they meet Chiang, a Chinese slave. Chiang fights them in defense so gang member Aimutty takes Chiang's mother hostage. Marakkar is against hurting women and children so he saves her but accidentally kills Aimutty. Aimutty's brother Mayinkutty witnesses this. Chiang and his mother are rescued, leading to the former and Marakkar becoming friends, and he calls Chiang "Chinnali". Since Marakkar is a fugitive of Kozhikode, Achuthan instructs Mayinkutty to kill him for revenge, but Chinnali kills him first.
Viceroy Francisco de Gama threatens war against Kozhikode when their monarch, the Samoothiri, declines a trading deal proposed by their king. Since Achuthan, their naval commander, states that defeating them is impossible, Anandan proposes a controversial decision to recruit Marakkar, who is brought to the kingdom and recognised as Poker's son. The Samoothiri's judgement of Achuthan using Mayinkutty being dishonorable causes him to replace Achuthan with Marakkar as naval commander, leading Achuthan to jealousy. Marakkar leads the troops to battle and they use traps to sink many Portuguese ships, eventually finding Alfonso and killing him. Marakkar is praised by the court, except by the diplomats of Kolathunadu who ally with the Portuguese. The Samoothiri thanks Marakkar by renovating his family's fortress, and it grows into a village. In the meantime, Chinnali falls in love with Aarcha, the daughter of minister Dharmoth Panicker. She reciprocates, but Achuthan also has feelings for her. Their parents decide to get Aarcha married to Achuthan. Unbeknownst to them, Aarcha, who is now pregnant with Chinnali's child, runs away with him. Achuthan, out of jealousy, frames Chinnali for abducting her, causing tension. Achuthan attempts to force Aarcha to return to the kingdom, causing a fight between him, Chinnali, and Anandan. Anandan pleads to Chinnali to calm down, but Achuthan kills Chinnali and runs. Aarcha commits suicide, while Marakkar assumes Anandan is the killer after arriving late and slashes his throat.
Achuthan also beats up one of the court members to frame Marakkar for it, further painting him as a traitor. A new monarch named Nambyathiri takes the Samoothiri's place, and he decides to submit to the Portuguese rule. Thus, the Portuguese and Kozhikode work together and plot to kill Marakkar. The two armies lay siege to Marakkar's village, and despite resistance, they lose due to Kolathunadu's treachery. Marakkar continues to resist them, so De Gama proposes killing handfuls of his people each day. Nambyathiri is bludgeoned by De Gama for rejecting, and Pattu is one of the first to be executed. Marakkar manages to kidnap De Gama, forcing the release of his people, but he is drawn into a trap orchestrated by Achuthan and Subaida, Aimutty's wife. She regrets it when Marakkar apologises but it is too late, and De Gama's men arrest him. Marakkar is brought to Velha, Goa, and is convicted and sentenced to death by guillotine after refusing to beg for mercy. He is seen joining his mother in the otherworld.

Cast

  • Mohanlal as Muhammad Ali / Kunjali Marakkar IV, an Indian Muslim warrior and the last Marakkar, who organizes armed rebellions against the nobles of Kozhikode and imperial Portuguese.
  • *Pranav Mohanlal as Young Kunjali
  • Arjun Sarja as Anandan, the elder son of Mangattachan and commander of the Kozhikode military, known for being just and compassionate.
  • *Arun Kurian as Young Anandan
  • Suniel Shetty as Chandroth Panicker, the monarch of Kolathunadu under the Samoothiri and Marakkar's ally, who's eventually betrayed by his own diplomats.
  • Ashok Selvan as Achuthan Mangattachan, Mangattachan's second son and Anandan's brother who is jealous and arrogant of Anandan and Marakkar's popularity and plots to kill them
  • *Jitin Puthenchery as Young Achuthan
  • Prabhu as Thangudu, a physically strong bandit troop leader and Kunjali's childhood best friend
  • *Arjun krishnadas as Young Thangudu
  • Manju Warrier as Subaida
  • Keerthy Suresh as Aarcha
  • Kalyani Priyadarshan as Aisha, Marakkar's wife
  • Mukesh as Dharmoth Panicker, Samoothiri's minister and Aarcha's father
  • Nedumudi Venu as Samoothiri
  • Siddique as Pattu Marakkar, Kunjali's uncle
  • Jay J. Jakkrit as Chiang Juvan, Kunjali's helper and fighter
  • Innocent as Namath Kurup
  • K. B. Ganesh Kumar as Verkottu Panicker, Chandroth Panicker's uncle
  • Baburaj as Puthumana Panicker, Chandroth Panicker's father
  • Hareesh Peradi as Mangattachan, Anandan and Achuthan's father and Chandroth Panicker's guru
  • Mamukkoya as Aboobakkar Haji
  • Nandu as Kuthiravattath Nair, Samoothiri's helper
  • Santhosh Keezhattoor as Kokkattu Panicker, Chandroth Panicker's uncle
  • Fazil as Kutti Ali Marakkar, Kunjali's father
  • Suhasini Maniratnam as Khadeejumma, Kunjali's mother.
  • Suresh Krishna as Moidu, Kutti Ali's brother
  • Manikuttan as Mayinkutty, Aimutty's younger brother and Subaida's brother-in-law
  • G. Suresh Kumar as Kochi Raja
  • Srikant Murali as Kochi Raja's advisor
  • Krishna Prasad as Translator
  • Arjun Nandhakumar as Nambyathiri, Samoothiri's nephew
  • Parvathi T. as Samoothiri's sister
  • Komal Sharma as Puthumana Thampuratti, Anandan's wife
  • Toby Sauberback as Viceroy Francisco Da Gama, Portuguese colonists's leader
  • Max Cavenham as André Furtado de Mendonça
  • Paul Huntley-Thomas as Alphonso De Noronha, Portuguese military officer
  • Bineesh Kodiyeri as Thangudu's assistant
  • Shiyas Kareem as Marakkar's assistant
  • Kozhikode Narayanan Nair as Aboobakkar Haji
  • Antony Perumbavoor as Street Vendor
  • Vikraman Nair as Rajaguru