Star
Cast:
Mohanlal,
Siddique,
Nedumudi
Venu,
Prabhu,
Manju
Warrier
Director:
Priyadarshan
Marakkar
Arabikadalinte
Simham,
the
Mohanlal-starring
epic
drama
has
finally
hit
the
theatres
after
multiple
delays.
The
Priyadarshan
directorial
revolves
around
the
historical
character
Kunjali
Marakkar
IV,
who
was
the
Naval
chieftain
of
Samoothiri
kingdom
in
the
16th
century.
Marakkar
Arabikadalinte
Simham
is
bankrolled
by
Antony
Perumbavoor
and
Roy
CJ,
under
the
banners
Aashirvad
Cinemas
and
Confident
Group.
Did
Mohanlal-Priyadarshan's
magnum
opus
live
up
to
expectations?
Read
Marakkar
movie
review
here
to
know...
What's
Yay:
Visuals
&
technical
aspects
Performances
of
Mohanlal
&
some
of
the
supporting
actors
Mohammed
Ali
aka
Kunjali
Marakkar
(Pranav
Mohanlal)
loses
his
entire
family
and
newly-wedded
wife
(Kalyani
Priyadarshan)
in
an
attack
by
the
Portuguese
army.
He
elopes
with
his
paternal
uncle
Pattu
Marakkar
(Siddique)
to
a
new
place,
where
he
starts
helping
the
poor
by
all
means.
A
grown-up
Kunjali
(Mohanlal)
is
invited
by
the
Zamorin
king
(Nedumudi
Venu)
to
head
the
Naval
army
of
the
kingdom,
upon
the
advice
of
his
army
chief
Anandan
Mangattachan
(Arjun
Sarja).
What
fate
has
in
store
for
the
fighter
forms
the
crux
of
the
story.
Script
&
Direction
Priyadarshan,
the
senior
filmmaker
has
succeeded
in
presenting
the
finest
Malayalam
film
to
date
-
in
terms
of
technical
aspects.
Marakkar
Arabikadalinte
Simham
has
unarguably
pushed
Malayalam
cinema's
boundaries
when
it
comes
to
production
design,
special
effects,
and
costume
design.
The
sea
portions,
especially
the
war
sequence
of
Marakkar
are
simply
mindblowing.
The
detailing
that
is
seen
in
the
technical
aspects
deserve
great
applause.
But,
the
biggest
problem
of
the
Mohanlal
starrer
is
its
writing,
which
lacks
consistency
(the
film
is
penned
by
Priyadarshan
and
his
assistant
Ani
IV
Sasi).
The
movie
constantly
juggles
between
too
many
characters
and
sub-plots,
and
barely
scratches
the
surface.
Even
though
the
film
mainly
focuses
on
Mohanlal's
character
Kunjali
Marakker,
we
hardly
get
any
character
insight.
And
this
is
the
exact
problem
with
every
single
character
in
the
film.
For
instance,
even
though
the
sequence
is
a
treat
to
watch,
the
movie
never
focuses
on
how
Marakkar
planned
his
moves
against
the
Portuguese.
Instead,
we
get
some
forced
melodrama
and
romance.
Even
the
dialogues
of
the
film
have
the
same
consistency
issue,
where
the
characters
(especially
Mohanlal's
Kunjali
Marakkar)
switch
between
traditional
Malabar
dialect
and
modern
Malayalam
very
often.
The
predictability
factor
severely
hits
the
narrative
right
from
the
beginning,
thus
lessening
the
impact.
Marakkar
features
all
the
usual
faces
of
a
signature
Priyadarshan
film.
While
some
of
them
get
a
few
good
moments,
others
are
totally
wasted.
The
Mohanlal-starrer
also
follows
the
most
overused
trope
of
Indian
cinema
-
demonizing
foreign
characters.
The
second
half
of
the
film
takes
a
totally
unexpected
turn,
and
it
dilutes
the
impact
created
by
the
fantastically
conceived
war
sequence
and
interval
block.
Marakkar
Arabikadalinte
Simham
would
have
definitely
been
a
more
fulfilling
watch
if
the
writing
was
more
crisp
and
consistent.
Mohanlal,
who
plays
Kunjali
Marakkar,
is
simply
fantastic
in
the
action
and
emotional
sequences,
as
always.
But
the
superstar
visibly
struggles
with
the
extremely
forced
Malabar
dialect
that
often
reminds
his
character
from
Priyadarshan's
Kilichundan
Mambazham.
Arjun
Sarja,
Siddique,
Hareesh
Perady,
and
Ashok
Selvan
are
the
actors
who
impress
with
their
exceptional
performances.
The
massive
supporting
cast,
including
Nedumudi
Venu,
Innocent,
Mamukkoya,
Fazil,
Suhasini
Maniratnam,
Mukesh,
Manju
Warrier,
Keerthy
Suresh,
Jay
J
Jakkrit
(Chinnali),
Nandu,
Ganesh
Kumar,
Baburaj,
Suresh
Krishna,
Kalyani
Priyadarshan,
and
others
are
good
in
their
respective
roles
but
have
no
scope
to
do
much.
It
is
Pranav
Mohanlal,
who
plays
the
younger
version
of
Kunjali
Marakkar,
who
surprises
with
his
matured
performance.
The
star
kid
has
improved
a
lot
as
an
actor
and
brings
the
much-need
innocence
and
fierceness
to
his
character.
He
is
definitely
here
to
stay.
Technical
Aspects
Marakkar
is
unarguably
the
finest
film
ever
made
in
Malayalam
cinema
when
it
comes
to
its
technical
aspects.
Senior
filmmaker
Tirru
has
done
a
brilliant
job
with
the
spectacular
visuals
of
the
movie.
But
it
is
production
designer
Sabu
Cyril
and
the
VFX
team
headed
by
Siddharth
Priyadarshan
who
has
crafted
the
world
of
Marakkar
with
absolute
perfection.
The
excess
duration
of
the
film
makes
it
a
tiring
watch.
The
sea
war
sequence
leaves
an
everlasting
impression
with
its
brilliant
detailing
and
staging.
The
costume
designing
department
too
has
done
a
splendid
job.
The
background
score
composed
by
Rahul
Raj
is
the
backbone
of
the
film.
Ronnie
Raphel
scores
with
a
great
soundtrack.
Verdict
Marakkar
Arabikadalinte
Simham
is
unarguably
Malayalam
cinema
at
its
technical
best.
But
this
Mohanlal-starrer
deserved
much
more.
The
inconsistent
writing,
too
many
wasted
characters,
and
excess
duration
make
Marakkar
an
unsatisfying
watch.