Mark director Vijay Kartikeyaa: Sudeep sir does what most stars will not

Mark director Vijay Kartikeyaa explains a major change he made with his sophomore film, which yet again stars Kiccha Sudeep in the lead. The film will be in theatres on December 25

Kiccha Sudeep in Mark

When the trailer of Kiccha Sudeep’s Christmas release Mark came out, what stood out is the vast ensemble cast on board the action thriller. The film by Max maker Vijay Kartikeyaa is said to have 4 main antagonists, played by Naveen Chandra, Guru Somasundaram, Vikranth and Shine Tom Chacko, but then, there’s also Yogi Babu, Dragon Manju, Vinay Gowda, all three of who are also among the baddies of the film. Roshni Prakash, Archana Kottige, Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Dev Gill, Pratap Narayan, Mahantesh Hiremath, Arunachalam Subramaniam, Arul Dass, GM Kumar, Krishnapriya, Deepshikha are a part of this massive cast that’s been put together.

Unlike Max, Mark does not entirely revolve around Sudeep

Unlike his debut film Max, though, this time around, Vijay has spent time establishing each one of these characters onscreen, which, he says, was possible only because it’s a Sudeep film. “In Max, the entire film revolved around Sudeep sir’s Arjun Mahakshay, but this time, with such a massive cast on board, the objective from the start was to ensure everyone gets decent space in the narrative. Mark is not all about Ajay Markandayya and that’s because Sudeep sir does what most stars will not; he gives everyone their moment in the spotlight,” said Vijay during the Chennai leg of promotions of Mark.

The film has Sudeep as a hot-headed cop on suspension, which had sparked speculation that the character is an extension of Max, but both the actor and the filmmaker have been categoric that there’s no similarity between Mark and Max. This time around, the narrative spans 48 hours, and has Sudeep and team investigating the disappearance of young children, who are then found dead not much later. The case also gets personal for Mark, when someone in his close circle is affected.

Also read: Is Kiccha Sudeep’s Mark set in the same cinematic universe as Max? Actor clarifies…

While cracking down on the team responsible for the rampant kidnappings and murders is top priority for Mark, he must also deal with a corrupt politician, who is responsible for the officer’s suspension.

Mark the movie FAQs

Q. Is Mark the Max sequel?

A. There have been rumours that director Vijay Kartikeyaa rebranded the script for Max 2 as Mark, but the filmmaker has negated this, stating that the nuances of the character in Mark are very different from Max's Arjun Mahakshay.

Q. Who all are on the vast cast of Mark?

A. Mark stars Kiccha Sudeep, Guru Somasundaram, Naveen Chandra, Vikranth, Yogi Babu, Shine Tom Chacko, Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Mahantesh Hiremath, Dragon Manju, Vinay Gowda, Roshni Prakash, Archana Kottige, Deepshika, among others.

Q. Where can one watch Mark?

A. Mark is set for theatrical release on December 25, 2025. There is no update on the film's OTT partner and tentative streaming date yet

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