Showing posts with label Marco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marco. Show all posts
Unni Mukundan's Marco 2 shelved
4:14 PM
Months after CBFC’s Thiruvananthapuram office was flooded with complaints against Marco’s graphic violence, actor Unni Mukundan shelves the actioner’s sequel
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; June 16, 2025)
Marco’s (2024) strong box-office run last December may have seeded the idea of a sequel in the makers’ minds, but six months on, things have taken a turn. Over the weekend, actor Unni Mukundan revealed that the Malayalam action thriller’s second instalment has been shelved. Reason? “Too much negativity around the project,” he cited.
The decision isn’t surprising considering Haneef Adeni’s directorial venture was widely criticised for its gory violence. In January, mid-day had reported that the Central Board of Film Certification’s (CBFC) regional office in Thiruvananthapuram was flooded with complaints against the movie that had graphic scenes, including the killing of a baby, the torture of a pregnant woman, and prolonged sequences of sexual violence. Audience members and advocacy groups had questioned how such content made it to the screen.
Now, sources within the CBFC have revealed that internal discussions had flagged Marco as a cautionary example. “The backlash was unprecedented. We received over 200 complaints in the first month of release,” a senior official said. It has been learnt that the audience’s reaction compelled the makers to rethink the second part.
The insider added, “Given the public reaction and internal deliberation, if a sequel was to be made, it’d be intensely scrutinized and face heavy cuts.”
Marco viewers take objection to violent scenes such as killing of a baby, pregnant woman being tortured
8:37 AM
Marco viewers take objection to scenes of violence in the Malayalam film that the CBFC cleared after a seven-minute cut; Board insider says the team did its due diligence
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; January 9, 2025)
While it is the censor board’s scissors that a filmmaker dreads the most, the makers of the Malayalam film Marco have faced criticism from viewers instead, despite getting a clearance from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Marco, which has had a good run at the box office, was released without seven minutes of content that the Board objected to, but viewers have condemned scenes of violence, including one that shows the killing of a baby and another featuring a pregnant woman being tortured.
The CBFC’s regional office in Trivandrum has reportedly been inundated with complaints from viewers who have questioned how such content was cleared for release and urged for stricter guidelines on graphic violence in Indian films.
A viewer, Saswata Guha, tells mid-day, “This is not cinema; it is barbarity. Yes, it is A-rated, but does that give a filmmaker a free pass to showcase such scenes? It features scenes of infanticide, children being hanged, pregnant women being tortured, wombs being smashed open, and unborn babies being ripped out. This is not art. This is a vile spectacle. That the CBFC allowed such sickening imagery to be screened is unforgivable. What happened to their responsibility as gatekeepers of ethical filmmaking?”
In the wake of these developments, the Board finds itself in an unfamiliar situation. Accustomed to facing the wrath of filmmakers for being too critical of their content and apparently tampering with a film’s crux, it now faces accusations of leniency. Among the portions that the Board eliminated from Marco’s final cut was a scene showcasing a child’s head being smashed with a cylinder. Other scenes that viewers have objected to had also been significantly truncated, with an insider sharing that the final cut featured only 60 per cent of what was presented to the Board. The Board also requested the makers to submit documents of consent from parents of the children who were part of the film.
A CBFC insider tells mid-day, “We did our due diligence. But we can’t hamper the makers’ creation either. A balance has to be struck, and we did that judiciously.”
mid-day reached out to the film’s leading man, Unni Mukundan, and the CBFC but did not hear from them till press time.
Fenil's Bollywood Talk # 863
10:22 PM
BABY JOHN FLOPS; MARCO RISES; PUSHPA 2 AND MUFASA CONTINUE TO RULE
The big Christmas 2024 release, Baby John, has failed big time at the box office. After opening at Rs. 10.15 crores on December 25, it was expected to have a normal Thursday drop. But it went down to Rs. 4.15 crores and further down to Rs. 3.25 crores on Friday. It had small jumps on Saturday and Sunday but it wasn’t enough. The five-day collections were Rs. 25.90 crores, which should have been its two-day collections ideally. It got the benefit of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s to some extent but again, it won’t help much. The extended first-week collections are around Rs. 35-36 crores and it remains to be seen if it crosses the Rs. 45 crore mark.
Meanwhile, Baby John’s loss is Marco’s gain. The Malayalam film’s Hindi dubbed version barely collected Rs. 25 lakhs in the first week. But on its second Friday, it managed to collect the same amount as it did in the first week. On Wednesday, January 1, it hit the Rs. 1 crore mark when it collected Rs. 1.05 crore. Its two-week collections are now Rs. 5 crores. The film is now getting more and more screens as the days pass and hence, its collections are also increasing. At this rate, it can earn anywhere between Rs. 15 and 25 crores.
Mufasa: The Lion King grew big time after a not-so-expected start. It had a huge second weekend of Rs. 23.75 crores. On January 1, it earned Rs. 7 crores. While it collected Rs. 61.95 crores in Week 1, its week-two collections will be around Rs. 44 crores. It has crossed the Rs. 100 crore mark and will now go beyond Rs. 125 crores. It’ll still be less than its predecessor The Lion King which collected more than Rs. 150 crores in India. However, the purpose is served for this film with its trending.
Lastly, Pushpa 2 – The Rule remained rock steady. It crossed the Rs. 700 core mark on January 1. There’s a lot of gas left in the tank and trade is not ruling out a Rs. 750 crore lifetime.
(Crisp) Movie Review: MARCO (Hindi) by FENIL SETA
4:57 PM
Marco is a Malayalam film that started on a very poor note in Hindi. But with each passing day, it has grown dramatically. It's called the 'Baap of Animal' in terms of violence and that has made people very curious about it. Writer-director Haneef Adeni has executed the film very stylishly - the camerawork, the lighting, the action and the production design - all come together and provide a complete cinematic experience. Ravi Basrur's music and background score are like an icing on the cake. On the flipside, the writing is not upto the mark. Some disturbing scenes are added just for the effect and not to take the story forward. Some major characters enter the narrative all of a sudden and it gives an impression that their actual entry scenes were probably chopped off. Lastly, the action and whole vibe give a deja vu of John Wick and Animal; a scene looks very similar to that of Pushpa 2. Of course, Marco was made before the Allu Arjun-starrer released and it's just a case of timing. Unni Mukundan plays the role with aplomb and rocks the show. Abhimanyu Shammy Thilakan (Russel), Jagadish (Tony), Siddique (George) and Anson Paul (Devraj) lend able support. Kabir Duhan Singh (Cyrus) and Ishan Shoukath (Victor) have limited screen time but leave a huge mark. Yukti Thareja (Maria) and Durva Thaker (Isha) are okay. All in all, Marco is worth watching for its stylish treatment, mass moments and Unni Mukundan's electrifying screen presence.
My rating - *** out of 5!
Sanjay Dutt to play a Goan in Shelly Chopra's Marco
11:06 AM
Prep for Shelly Chopra's directorial debut, a father-daughter journey in which Dutt plays a carefree, boho character, begins this August.
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 11, 2016)
Ever since Sanjay Dutt walked out of jail in February, several filmmakers, including Siddharth Anand, Umesh Shukla, Rohit Jugraj Chauhan and Vidhu Vinod Chopra have announced films with him. The first project that the actor will start work on is Anand's yet-tobe-titled drama that rolls this August. Now, Mirror has learnt that Dutt who also features in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's sister Shelly Chopra's directorial debut Marco, plays a Goan.
The film is in the final scripting stage. "Marco is a beautiful, emotional father-daughter story," the 53-year-old actor had revealed at an event in Delhi in May.
"Pre-production for the film begins in August. It will be shot in Goa and move to Chennai in the second half. Sanjay plays a Goa-based boho character that is fun and carefree but assumes a more serious and mature tone towards the second half, after he takes up a job in Chennai and moves cities. The makers are looking at highlighting the local culture of both cities as it plays an important part in the story," a source informed Mirror.
Meanwhile, hunt is currently on for three leading ladies. "Sanjay's character meets three women at different stages of his life. All of them are an integral part of the narrative," the source signs off.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)