There are only a handful of occasions where three members from the same family have united on the same film. Marakkar – Arabikkadalante Simham was that rare project for the family of director Priyadarshan. While Priyadarshan directed the Mohan Lal starrer, the filmmaker’s son Siddharth headed the special effects team and daughter Kalyani Priyadarshan (Hello, Chitra Lahari fame) was part of the film’s principal cast.
At the 67th National Film Awards announced today, the Malayalam film went to bag three awards – for the Best Feature Film, Special Effects and Costumes. Sharing a note about the honour for the film, Kalyani Priyadarshan added, “SO proud of my two main men! Apart from everyone else who is like family to me who are a part of #Marakkar. It’s the first time 3 of us came together for a film and it means the world to see it being recognized in this way. Words can’t describe what this project meant to me.”
Surprisingly, Marakkar hasn’t had a theatrical release yet despite the filming being completed in 2019 and is scheduled to open in theatres for this Eid on May 13. The producer Antony Perumbavoor had also bankrolled Drishyam 2 that released on Amazon Prime Video earlier this year.