Priyadarshan is assembling a massive star cast for his upcoming historical epic, Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham, which will have Mohanlal appearing in the titular role.
The latest update is that Manju Warrier and Keerthy Suresh have been cast as two of the female leads.
Manju and Keerthy will be joining Tamil actors Arjun Sarja and Prabhu, Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty, veteran Malayalam actor Madhu, and Pranav Mohanlal. Prabhu, Mohanlal, and Priyadarshan worked together 22 years ago in Kaalapani.
The reports of Nagarjuna joining the cast are false, confirmed Priyadarshan.
"Kunjali Marakkar" is the title accorded to the Muslim naval chiefs who assisted the Zamorin rulers in the wars with the Portuguese in the 16th century. There were four Kunjali Marakkars in total. Mohanlal will be portraying the fourth and Madhu the first. Pranav will play the younger version of Mohanlal's character. Interestingly, director Santosh Sivan is also developing his interpretation of the same character. This project is currently put on hold.
Priyadarshan's version will be bankrolled by three producers -- Antony Perumbavoor (Aashirwad Cinemas), Santosh T Kuruvilla (Moonshot Entertainment), and Dr CJ Roy (Confident Group). Sabu Cyril (Enthiran, Baahubali) is in charge of production design and S Thirru (Janatha Garage, Mercury) is in charge of cinematography.
The film's pre-production work is currently underway with the shoot planned for November 1.