Kunjali Marakkar: Filmmaker Major Ravi to assist Priyadarshan in film with Suniel Shetty, Nagarjuna, Paresh Rawal

Filmmaker Major Ravi, best known for his work in award-winning war-based movies such as Keerthi Chakra and Kandahar, has joined Mohanlal’s highly-anticipated period magnum-opus _Kunjali Marakkar: Arabikkadalinte Simha_m (Marakkar: The Lion of the Arabian Sea) to assist veteran director Priyadarshan. Tipped to be the most expensive project ever to come out of Malayalam film industry, the movie is based on the life of naval chief, Mohammed Ali - Kunjali Marakkar IV and his valiant efforts against the Portuguese on the West coast in the 16th century. Ravi confirmed the news on his Facebook page through a live video chat with his fans. “Next, I will be joining the Kunjali Marakkar team to assist Priyadarshan. He had called me to join [in], and I immediately gave my nod to be part of this ambitious project,” said Ravi. [caption id=“attachment_1830749” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Director Priyadarshan. Ibnlive image[/caption] Suniel Shetty, Nagarjuna, and Paresh Rawal have been roped in to play pivotal roles in the film, which is jointly produced by Mohanlal-Antony Perumbavoor’s Aashirvad Cinemas, CJ Roy’s Confident Group and Santosh Kuruvilla’s Moonshot Entertainment. Set to be made as a multi-lingual film in Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil, Kunjali Marakkar is expected to start rolling from the first week of September with a preliminary schedule. The full-fledged shooting is likely to kickstart from 1 November. “Since I was busy with the armed forces aspirants in NAPT (National Academy of Pre-Recruitment Training), my film commitments were on hold for some time. I will soon get back to assist my mentor Priyadarshan for Kunjali Marakkar, which would take at least a year to complete,” said Ravi. Ravi also confirmed his upcoming line-up of films with Mohanlal and Nivin Pauly. “My film with Mohanlal will be set in a village backdrop. The shooting will commence only after he completes Kunjali Marakkar,” Ravi said, adding that the movie will be on the lines of Ranjith-directed 1997 blockbuster Aaraam Thampuraan which starred Mohanlal, Manju Warrier and the late Kalabhavan Mani as leads. The yet-untitled project would mark the sixth collaboration of Mohanlal and Major Ravi following their four-film war-centric series Major Mahadevan (Keerthi Chakra, Kurukshetra, Kandahar and 1971: Beyond Borders) and the investigative thriller Karmayodha. Ravi also revealed that he would soon team up with actor Nivin Pauly for his next. The project would mark the first-time association of Nivin and Ravi. “My film with Nivin Pauly will begin as soon as he finishes his work on Roshan Andrrews’ Kayamkulam Kochunni. He has agreed to do my film. I’ve already completed the story and given it to Benny P Nayarambalam, who will write the screenplay. We are waiting for Nivin now,” added Ravi. Sources say Ravi’s film with Nivin Pauly will be a romance drama based on real-life incidents. Once Nivin completes his assignment on other projects and allocates dates, Ravi will soon begin filming. Nivin is currently on the verge of finishing the shooting of Kayamkulam Kochunni, in which he plays the titular role of the famous highwayman Kochunni who was active in central Travancore during the early 19th century. The movie also features Mohanlal playing the role of Ithikkara Pakki in an extended cameo. Also starring Priya Anand, Priyanka Thimmesh, Sunny Wayne, Babu Antony, Manikandan R Achari, Jude Anthony Joseph and Sudev Nair in essential roles, Kayamkulam Kochunni is being produced by Gopalan under his banner Sree Gokulam Films. Nivin Pauly got specialised training in Kalaripayattu, the ancient martial arts form of Kerala, to perform the role of Kochunni in the film. Mohanlal’s character of Ithikkara Pakki will appear for nearly 40 minutes in the movie. He had completed shooting his portions last month, and his scenes have been shot in Goa, Mangalore and Sri Lanka.