Filmmaker Priyadarshan has put to bed rumours regarding the release of his upcoming Malayalam magnum opus Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham. He has clarified that the film, which has been made on a lavish budget of over Rs100 crore, will only be out in cinemas.
In an interview with Sify.com, Priyadarshan said, “Marakkar is a big-budget film that can be enjoyed only on the big screen, even if I have to wait for another six months it will only have a theatrical release. Mohanlal, Antony Perumbavoor [the producer and distributor] and I are on the same page as far as the release is concerned and we are sure a big tentpole film like Marakkar will have a big screen release before going the digital way,” he said.
He also asked rhetorically that even if the makers were to opt for a digital release, which OTT platform would be interesting in paying Rs150 crore for the project.
Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham, which stars Mohanlal, was supposed to hit the screens last March. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the release was postponed indefinitely.
“With such huge stakes involved, we’re concerned about our product which we painstakingly built, but we are in no hurry to release the film. We’ll take a call when the world returns to normalcy when people are in a position to enjoy things the way they used to earlier. We’re looking forward to a release in December or even early next year,” Priyadarshan had said in an interview to The News Minute last year.
The historical epic features Arjun, Suniel Shetty, Keerthy Suresh, Manju Warrier and Siddique in important roles. It will also be released in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi.