As the theaters remain closed due to the lockdown, Malayalam cinema has already suffered a whopping loss of more than Rs 600 crore. The shoot of several much-awaited movies has also stalled. While the uncertainty with regards to the reopening of theatres prevails, film trade analysts predict that things will return to normalcy by August or September.

Mollywood's ambitious project 'Marakkar Arabi Kadalinte Simham', which is made on a budget of around Rs 100 crores, was supposed to release on March 28 in over 5000 theatres across the globe. As COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent lockdown played spoilsport, the much-awaited movie was postponed. Now, the latest is that the makers of ‘Marakkar’ are planning to release the film only in December or early next year.

In a recent interview with TNM, the film’s director Priyadarshan had revealed that they are in no hurry to release the film as they are concerned about the quality of the final product. He also added that the movie will be released only when the world returns to normalcy and people returns to a position to enjoy films like before.

The film which is set during the era of the 16th century in Kerala is based on the legendary sailor Kunjali Marakkar IV, played by Mohanlal. Pranav is playing the younger version of Mohanlal in the movie. Pranav is paired opposite Kalyani Priyadarshan.The epic period drama is produced at a budget of Rs 100 crore and features an ensemble cast of Keerthi Suresh, Manju Warrier, Arjun Sarja, Nedumudi Venu, Innocent, Suhasini and Mukesh among others.

Several foreign actors are also acting in the film. Antony Perumbavoor is bankrolling the project under the banner of Aashirvad Cinemas. 'Marakkar' will hit screens simultaneously in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. A Hindi version is also expected.