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Marco (2024 film)
Marco is a 2024 Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Haneef Adeni and produced by Cubes Entertainments and Unni Mukundan films. The film stars Unni Mukundan in the title role, alongside Siddique, Jagadish, Abhimanyu S Thilakan, Kabir Duhan Singh, Anson Paul and Yukti Thareja. The music was composed by Ravi Basrur, while cinematography and editing were handled by Chandru Selvaraj and Shameer Muhammed respectively. Marco was released worldwide on 20 December 2024, coinciding with Christmas weekend, and emerged as the highest-grossing A-rated Malayalam film of all time.[5][6] PlotVictor, a blind person, witnesses the murder of his close friend Wasim. Despite his blindness, Victor identifies the killer by recognising the distinct scent of the killer's perfume and the vehicle. Victor's identification leads the cops to uncover that the killer is Russell Issac, who conspired with Wasim's elder brother Tariq, to carry out the murder. Tragically, Victor gets captured by Russell, who throws him into a vat of hydrofluoric acid, resulting in his agonizing death. Victor's brother George Peter, the patriarch of the Adattu family, is devastated by the loss. Marco, Peter’s adopted brother who had been sent to Italy for safety, returns after learning about Victor’s death. At Victor's memorial service at their local church, Marco vows to avenge Victor's death, declaring his intent to eliminate everyone involved in the heinous act, including Russell, who is present at the scene. Despite Peter's attempts to dissuade him from taking a path of violence, Marco remains resolute. Meanwhile, Tony Issac, Russell’s father, manipulates the situation to his advantage and strikes a deal with Peter involving gold biscuits and a ransom, all while plotting further treachery. During Peter’s return from the deal, Isaac’s henchman Dev ambushes him in his car, reveals the conspiracy and fatally stabs him. Peter survives, but is hospitalised, further enraging Marco. Peter informs Marco that Tony and Russell were responsible for Victor's death. As Marco sets out for vengeance, Russell reveals his true nature by severely injuring Marco and using a chainsaw to mutilate the arm of Anwar, Marco’s right-hand man. An enraged Marco retaliates, killing Russell’s goons with the chainsaw. While preparing to kill Russell, Marco learns that Victor’s girlfriend Isha is pregnant with Victor's child and is being held captive by Tony. Marco captures and tortures Dev, who confesses that Isha is with Russell, before dying in an explosion set off by him. Marco storms Issac’s factory, battling his goons in a brutal fight to rescue Isha. However, Tony deceives Marco, revealing that Isha is locked in the trunk of Russell’s car. Marco and Anwar track Tony to his guesthouse, where Tony attempts to bargain for his life. After learning that Tony is bisexual, Marco cuts off Tony’s hand and sends it to Russell, disguised as a suitcase full of money. In a final trap, Marco rigs Tony’s chair with a detonator, causing the bomb to trigger just as Tony is hanged. As Tony is hanged in the air, the bomb detonates, leading to his suffering. Russell stands helpless outside the warehouse and is unable to do anything, but watch as Tony suffers through his final moments. Peter kills Tariq by hanging him. Desperate for revenge, Russell seeks help from his adopted brother Cyrus, a ruthless butcher. They launch an attack on the Adattu household, during Isha’s labour, and begin slaughtering the family. Despite Peter's valiant efforts, Cyrus and Russell kill all the family members, including the children, Marco’s fiancée Maria and Isha, brutally killing her and abducting her newborn child. Marco, gravely injured and helpless, is left to mourn his family’s death. Peter urges Marco to avenge not only Victor, but the entire family. Marco adopts a striking and fearsome appearance and confronts Cyrus and Russell at their factory. Marco fights through their henchmen in a bloody showdown, where he kills Russell by stabbing him and ripping out his heart. In a climatic encounter with Cyrus, who holds the newborn child over a vat of acid, Marco decapitates him and rescues the child before pushing him into the acid. Marco completes his path of vengeance and leaves the factory with the child, while paying the ultimate price in the suffering and loss of his family. In the aftermath, Marco spends time with Victor's son until a platoon of cars arrive. Cast
ProductionDevelopmentIn October 2023, Director-screenwriter Haneef Adeni announced his next film Marco in which Unni Mukundan will play the lead role. Marco was the character he previously played in the film Mikhael (2019) starring Nivin Pauly.[10] The film was expected to commence filming in February 2024. The film is produced by Shareef Muhammed and Abdul Gadhaf under the Cubes Entertainments banner.[11][12] In February 2024, it was reported to begin the shooting in April 2024.[13] Ravi Basrur, joined the project on March 2024 to compose the music who earlier announced to be part of Prithviraj Sukumaran's period epic Kaaliyan.[14] On April 28, 2024, the makers confirmed that the film will start rolling in the first week of May, 2024.[15] Marco will be co produced by Unni Mukundan Films. The film would have Chandru Selvaraj as the cinematographer, Shameer Muhammed as the editor and Kalai Kingson was signed as the action choreographer. The film will be released in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada languages.[16] Casting and filmingGrandson of Thilakan and son of actor Shammi Thilakan, Abhimanyu was cast in his maiden Malayalam film.[7] Siddique, Jagadish, Anson Paul, and Kabir Duhan Singh were for the major roles.[17] Yukti Thareja, known for her appearance in the T-Series song "Lut Gaye" opposite Emraan Hashmi, made her debut in Malayalam cinema joining the film on May 20, 2024; confirmed via her social media handle.[8] Debutante Durva Thaker joined the project earlier.[18] Riyaz Khan joined the cast in July 2024.[19] The first schedule was held in May 2024 in Munnar.[20] The second schedule was wrapped by July 2024 in Kochi.[21][22] The principal photography was wrapped by 28 August 2024 after nearly 100 days of shooting.[23][24] Music
The film's music along with the background score was composed by Ravi Basrur.[25] The music rights of the film were acquired by Sony Music.[26] The first single titled "Blood" was released on 22 November 2024.[27] The second version of song Blood sung by Santhosh Venky was released on 25 November 2024 due to criticism from audience.[28] The second single titled "Marpapa" was released on 29 November 2024.[29] The complete OST Jukebox with 1 hour and 25 minutes duration was published by the Sony Music Youtube channel on December 27.[30] Track listing
Background score
ReleaseMarco was released on 20 December 2024, coinciding with Christmas weekend.[32][33] The film received an A certification from the Central Board of Film Certification due to extreme bloody violence.[34] For the same reason, Marco became the first ever Indian action movie to receive an R21 rating by the IMDA in Singapore.[35][36] ReceptionCritical responseSanjith Sridharan of OTTplay gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Marco is the closest Malayalam film to a Prashanth Neel movie, not in terms of scale or story, but style. Unni Mukundan's performance gets the lion’s share of credit for this too."[37] Aaliya Farzeen Ashraf of The Week gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Marco caters to fans of stylized action and intense violence."[38] Vignesh Madhu of The New Indian Express gave 1.5/5 stars and wrote "Marco is a result of the increasing acceptance in Kerala for non-Malayalam films with hyper-masculine narratives. Realising the market potential, the makers have dished out an excessively violent action film, which is a cocktail of films like K.G.F, John Wick, Animal and many other such celebrated works.[39] Shilpa Nair Anand of The Hindu wrote "The movie scores on the technical aspects such as the stylised stunts, cinematography and background score; the writing, however, flounders."[40] Box officeOn its opening day, the film grossed ₹10.8 crore worldwide, being the fourth highest day-one grossing malayalam film in 2024, and one of the highest opener in malayalam cinema with ₹4.55 from the domestic market.[41][42][43] Marco became the highest-grossing A rated film of Malayalam cinema surpassing Kammatipaadam (2016).[5] In 3 days, the film grossed over ₹30 crore worldwide with ₹14.75 crore from Kerala.[44][45] The film has grossed ₹25 crore in Kerala and around ₹50 crore worldwide .[46] In 10 days, the total worldwide gross collection stands at ₹68 crore, including ₹53 crore in its opening week, the film grossed ₹41 crore domestically and ₹27 crore from overseas.[4] References
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