‘Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea’ review: Kunjali Marakkar certainly deserved a much better tribute
The Hindu
Despite the commendable special effects and efforts of the ensemble cast, a weak script ends up spoiling a storyline with immense heroic and emotional possibilities
More than the preparation for the two wars at the centre of Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham, if there is anything happening on a war footing in the film, it is the character introductions. Almost an hour into the film, new characters are still being introduced by the minute, with each of them just getting a minute or two to create an impression on the viewers, who are at times left bewildered by the crowd on-screen. The star cast is so huge that it is possible that the scriptwriters at some point must have wondered where to fit some of them in.
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It is perhaps this approach, that focuses more on the grandness of the whole thing — be it the budget, the star cast, the sweeping battle sequences or the visual effects — which made them lose sight of the basic building block on which one need not spend crores: the script. Director Priyadarshan, who scripted the film along with Ani. I.V. Sasi had the task of building a cinematic tale around the well-known story of Kunjali Marakkar, the Naval Chief of the Zamorin of Kozhikode, who led a valiant fight against the invading Portuguese in the 16th century.