Mohanlal’s Kunjali Marakkar will be one of the most expensive films in Mollywood, confirms producer

On Kerala Priravi Day, Malayali movie lovers woke up to some big news about two of their biggest superstars – Mohanlal and Mammootty. After years of speculation, August Cinema finally announced their period film Kunjali Marakkar with Mammootty in the lead. Ace cinematographer-turned-filmmaker Santhosh Sivan will be directing this biggie which is being penned jointly by TP Rajeev and Shankar Ramakrishnan.

Following the announcement of Mammootty’s Kunjali Marakkar IV, came a big news from Mohanlal’s side. Veteran director Priyadarshan is also planning a similar big-ticket period film on Kunjali Marakkar. Though many dismissed it as rumors, the director confirmed about the project in a recent interview to TOI.

Kunjali Marakkar was the title given to the naval chief of the Zamorin in the 16th century, to protect the coast against the invading Portuguese army. There were four key Kunjali Marakkars during the era and it is still not known which one Mohanlal will be playing.

Santhosh T Kuruvilla of Moonshot Entertainment is producing this big budget venture. In a recent public event, the producer has revealed that their version of Kunjali Marakkar starring Mohanlal will be one the most expensive films in Malayalam cinema. The makers are planning it as a multilingual in all major Indian languages.

Incidentally, Santhosh T Kuruvilla is collaborating with Mohanlal and Priyadarshan in two other projects before this one. He is producing Priyadarshan’s Nimir, which is the Tamil remake of Maheshinte Prathikaram. Mohanlal’s upcoming thriller with Bollywood filmmaker Ajoy Varma is also backed by the same producer.

The superstar has a lot of big budget films lined up in his kitty. He is currently on a break from the shoot of Odiyan. The Shrikumar Menon directorial is a fantasy thriller that deals with unexplored themes of magical realism and black magic. Prithviraj’s directorial debut Lucifer and the 1000 crore magnum opus Mahabharata are some of Mohanlal’s other biggies in the pipeline.