Ever since the announcement that Mammootty would play Kunjali Marakkar in his upcoming film to be directed by Santosh Sivan, fans are elated and are waiting to know more about it.

And it’s not just the fans and movie buffs - even the celebs are excited. Mammootty’s son and actor Dulquer Salmaan, while putting up the poster of the film on a social networking site wrote, “So excited about #KunjaliMarikar !! This is gonna be a legendary film ! Can just feel it.”

Veteran cinematographer and national award winner Santosh Sivan, whose last directorial was Inam, will be wielding the megaphone for this venture in which Mammootty plays Kunjali Marakkar.

The magnum opus will be bankrolled by August Cinemas.

Mammootty is currently busy with a slew of films in his kitty in various stages of production. While his last release was Pullikkaran Staraa, his next film release is touted to be Masterpiece which is in the post production mode. The star also has films like Streetlights, Uncle, and Parole lined up. Reports say that Kunjali Marakkar will start rolling next year onwards.

Interestingly, Mohanlal is also touted to play Kunjali Marakkar in his upcoming film to be directed by the national award winning director Priyadrashan. The film will start rolling once Mohanlal completes Odiyan and Priyadarshan is done with the Tamil film Nimir, which is the remake of the Malayalam blockbuster Maheshinte Prathikaaram.

Malayalam cinema appears to be going through a phase of making big budget, grandeur filled films, much like Tollywood.

About Kunjali Marakkar: It was the title given by the Hindu king of Calicut to the Muslim naval chief of the Zamorin (Samoothiri) during the 16th century. There were four major Kunjalis who fought the naval wars with the Portuguese between 1502 and 1600. Interestingly, Mammootty will be playing Kunjali Marakkar IV in the film.