# Marco (2024 film)

Marco is a 2024 Indian Malayalam-language neo-noir action thriller film written and directed by Haneef Adeni and produced by Shareef Muhammed under his Cubes Entertainments banner. The film stars Unni Mukundan in the titular role, alongside Siddique, Jagadish, Kabir Duhan Singh, Abhimanyu Shammi Thilakan, Anson Paul, Ishaan Shoukath and Yukti Thareja in supporting roles. The music was composed by Ravi Basrur, while cinematography and editing were handled by Chandru Selvaraj and Shameer Muhammed, respectively. The film is a standalone spin-off to Mikhael. Some of the characters from Mikhael are placed in a different story but in the same universe as Mikhael. The plot follows Marco, a ruthless criminal and the adopted son of the Adattu family, who goes on a bloody rampage after the brutal death of his blind foster brother Victor.
Marco was released worldwide on 20 December 2024, coinciding with Christmas. The film was a massive commercial success at the box office and emerged as the highest-grossing A-rated Malayalam-language film of all time and the fifth highest-grossing Malayalam film of all-time .

## Plot

Victor, 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 vehicle. Victor's identification leads the cops to suspect that the killer is Russell, who conspired with Wasim's elder brother Tariq, to carry out the murder. Tragically, Victor gets captured by Russell, who throws him into a tub of hydrofluoric acid, resulting in his 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 to India 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 and the leader of the Isaac family, a gold smuggling syndicate, 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 Devraj 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 pregnant girlfriend Isha is being held captive by Tony. In exchange for her release, Tony demands the Adattu family's entire gold business operations to be transferred in his name.
Marco captures and tortures Dev using phosgene gas. He confesses that Isha is at Tony's guesthouse before dying in an explosion. Marco storms the guesthouse, slaughtering Tony's henchmen brutally to rescue Isha. However, Tony deceives Marco, revealing that Isha is locked in the trunk of Russell's car. Marco and Anwar track Tony down to his farmhouse, where Tony reveals that he is bisexual and attempts to seduce them but Marco cuts off Tony's hand using a katana and sends it to Russell, disguised as a suitcase containing company documents. In a final trap, Marco rigs Tony's chair with a detonator, which would explode when Tony is lifted off the chair. When the detonator is just about to explode, Tony is hoisted into the air, which triggers the detonator and leaves him mortally wounded. Russell stands helpless outside the warehouse and is unable to do anything but watch as Tony succumbs to his wounds, leading to his death. Peter kills Tariq by hanging him.
Desperate for revenge, Russell seeks help from his elder brother Cyrus, a ruthless butcher. They launch an attack on the Adattu mansion during Isha's labour, and begin slaughtering the family. Despite Peter's valiant efforts, Cyrus and Russell kill all the members of the family, including the children, Marco's fiancée-turned-wife Maria, and Isha, before leaving with her newborn child. Gravely injured, Marco and Peter are left to mourn their family's deaths. 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 pool 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 post-credits scene, which takes place some time after the events of the movie, Marco spends time with the child in a beach until a platoon of cars arrive.

## Cast

* Unni Mukundan as Marco Jr.
* Siddique as George D'Peter
* Jagadish as Tony Isaac
* Kabir Duhan Singh as Cyrus Isaac
* Abhimanyu Shammi Thilakan as Russell Isaac
* Anson Paul as Devaraj a.k.a. Dev
* Ishaan Shoukath as Victor D'Peter
* Yukti Thareja as Maria
* Durva Thaker as Isha
* Sreejith Ravi as Mathews
* Lishoy as Adattu Francis
* Mathew Varghese as Peter D'Marco
* Shaji Shahid Jemshed as Anwar
* Ajit Koshy as Jahangir
* Dinesh Prabhakar as CI Ashok
* Arjun Nandhakumar as Tariq
* Bashid Basheer as Wasim
* Bindu Sanjeev as Elizabeth George
* Sajitha Sreejith as Ancy Mathews
* Bitto Davis as Roy Philip
* Sonia Giri as Tony's Wife
* Arun Sunny as Ronymon
* Chithra Prasad as Chithra
* Saneesh Nambiar as SI Shahul Hameed
* Meera Nair as Sophie
* Nassar as DYSP Nambiar
* Raghu Chandran as City Police Commissioner
* Ramesh Menon as James
* Pravada Menon as Doctor
* Dr. Reji as Sebastian
* K. P. A. C. Lalitha as Mariyam D'Peter, Marco's foster mother and George's mother (photo presence)
* Riyaz Khan as CI Imran Malik (deleted scene)

## Production
### Development

In October 2023, Cubes Entertainments announced Marco in which Unni Mukundan will being play the lead role, with the film written and directed by Haneef Adeni. Mukundan played a similar but antagonistic character of the same name in the 2019 film Mikhael starring Nivin Pauly. The film was expected to commence in February 2024. The film is produced by Shareef Muhammed under his Cubes Entertainments banner. In February 2024, it was reported that filming will commence in April 2024. Ravi Basrur joined the project in March 2024 to compose the music for the film. Prior to this, he was earlier announced to be part of Prithviraj Sukumaran's period epic Kaaliyan. On 28 April 2024, the filmmakers confirmed that the film will start shooting in the first week of May 2024. Marco is co-produced by Unni Mukundan's own film production company. The film has Chandru Selvaraj as the cinematographer, Shameer Muhammed as the editor, and Kalai Kingson as the action choreographer. On the teaser's launch, Shareef Muhammed assured that the film will not compromise its content, even though its teaser was edited for a much wider reach, and to comply with the CBFC's certification process for movie trailers. The makers announced that the film would be released in the Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada languages alongside its original Malayalam language.

### Casting and filming

Grandson of Thilakan and son of actor Shammi Thilakan, Abhimanyu was cast in his maiden Malayalam film. Actors Siddique, Jagadish and Kabir Duhan Singh were signed for major roles. Yukti Thareja, known for her appearance in the T-Series song "Lut Gaye" opposite Emraan Hashmi, made her debut in Malayalam cinema by joining the film on 20 May 2024, which was confirmed by the filmmakers via her Instagram account. Debutante Durva Thaker joined the project earlier. Riyaz Khan joined the cast in July 2024.
The first schedule was held in May 2024 in Munnar. The second schedule was wrapped by July 2024 in Kochi. The principal photography was wrapped by 28 August 2024 after nearly 100 days of shooting.

## Music

The film's music along with the background score was composed by Ravi Basrur. The music rights of the film were acquired by Sony Music. The first single, titled "Blood", was released on 22 November 2024. A second version of the song, sung by Santhosh Venky, was released on 25 November 2024 due to criticism of the first version from the audience. The second single titled "Marpapa" was released on 29 November 2024. The film's original soundtrack was released on 21 December 2024, while a separate album containing the film's background score was released by Sony Music India on 27 December 2024.

### Background score
## Release
### Theatrical

Marco was released on 20 December 2024, coinciding with Christmas weekend. Apart from the original Malayalam language, it was released in the Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, and Kannada languages. The film received an A certification from the Central Board of Film Certification due to extreme bloody violence. For the same reason, Marco became the first Indian action film and fifth Indian film in general to receive an R21 rating by the IMDA in Singapore. Cubes Entertainment released the film in Kerala while AP International released it across Tamil Nadu. NVR Cinemas released the film in Andhra Pradesh & Telangana. Jai Viratra Entertainment released the Hindi-dubbed version of the film in 1337 screens. Marco will expand its release to South Korea, signing with distributor Noori Pictures, and will be the third South Indian film to have a wide release in the country after the Baahubali films.

### Home media

The film began streaming on SonyLIV on 14 February 2025 in its original Malayalam language along with dubbed versions in the Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada languages. The Hindi-dubbed version began streaming on Amazon Prime Video on 27 February 2025. Initially, an extended and uncut version of the film was to be released on both streaming services, but after complaints were sent to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the theatrical version got released on the platforms instead.

## Controversies

The film was criticized by many personalities for its extreme violence and brutal content, influencing real-life violence. The film was planned to have a television premiere, but it was blocked by the CBFC due to the film's graphic violence. Alongside the cancellation of the film's planned TV premiere, appeals were also made by the regional censor board of India to remove the film from its OTT streaming services.

## Reception
### Critical response

Sanjith 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." Janani K of India Today gave 3/5 stars for the Tamil version and wrote, "The film will blow your mind off with its action pieces and its not for the faint-hearted", concluding as "Actor Unni Mukundan's exceptional performance enhanced the feel of Marco". Reviewing the Telugu version, Pratyusha Sista of Telangana Today stated that, "the film is a must-watch for action lovers, if you're looking for a gripping weekend entertainer as the director takes a simple revenge story and crafts it into a top-notch thriller with his unique vision". Arun Antony of Deccan Herald gave 3/5 stars and wrote, "'Marco' has everything it claims to be: bloody, violent, brutal and it holds back little in terms of onscreen violence, however, the action and stunts are fresh and enjoyable". ABP Live gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "Technically the film sets a new standard in Indian cinema and it's a must-watch as the film maintains a thrilling pace with powerful action as well as brilliant direction". Aaliya Farzeen Ashraf of The Week gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Marco caters to fans of stylized action and intense violence." 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."

### Box office

On 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. Marco became the highest-grossing A certified film of Malayalam cinema, surpassing Kammatipaadam (2016). In 3 days, the film grossed over ₹30 crore worldwide with ₹14.75 crore from Kerala. In its first 4 day weekend it grossed around ₹40 crore worldwide with ₹18.15 crore from Kerala. The film has grossed ₹25 crore in Kerala and around ₹50 crore worldwide in 7 days. It grossed ₹56 crore in 8 days.
The Hindi dubbed version became the highest grossing Malayalam dubbed film in the Hindi speaking region netting ₹5 crore as of January 03, 2025 surpassing The Goat Life (2024) and 2018 (2023). In 17 days, the total worldwide gross collection stands at ₹91 crore, including ₹40 from Kerala, ₹20 crore from ROI and ₹31 crore from overseas. As of January 12 2025, the film grossed ₹155 crore worldwide.

## Sequel

The film's post-credits scene teases that a sequel will be made in the future. Haneef Adeni confirmed the sequel a few weeks after the release of the film, and it is expected to have more action and violence than its predecessor.