Mark director Vijay Kartikeyaa: I made the mistake of not writing fleshed out characters in Max, that I rectified here

It is exactly a year after the release of Kannada action thriller Max starring Kichcha Sudeep, the actor is returning with yet another film of the same genre, on the same day of Christman. This time, with the film titled Mark, Sudeep pairs up with Max director Vijay Kartikeyaa for the second time. Then a debutant, now helming his second feature, Vijay Kartikeyaa not only returns with his sophomore outing with the star, but also has managed to make a film exactly within a year.

In conversation with OTTplay, Vijay Kartikeyaa reveals that Mark was only greenlit in July 2025 even though soon after release of Max, the director and actor had planned to collaborate once again. “By that time, it was already April, and I already had a bounded script. But he had asked me to make a film by Christmas. I was sceptical how I could make a star film within six months. However, after the producers came onboard, I got some confidence. We started on July 7, and wrapped up in November and now gearing up for release,” the filmmaker recalls.

On making Mark after Max:

For Mark, Vijay Kartikeyaa retained his technical crew from Max, including cinematographer Shekar Chandra, composer Ajaneesh B Loknath and editor SR Ganesh Baabu. The director credits his technical crew and Sudeep who made it possible for the project to happen on said pace. “Sudeep sir comes to spot before me, and once we had announced it as Christmas release, he took it upon himself. We shot for 110 days and every member of cast and crew made this possible. Team work helped us to get where we are now.”

Also read: Mark actor Naveen Chandra: People still recognise me by my characters not as a hero | EXCLUSIVE

While Max was a story that happened overnight, Mark is a story that unfolds within 48 years. Comparisons were inevitable when Max was compared to Kaithi, but now when Mark draws similarities with Max, in terms of genre and Sudeep playing a cop role yet again. “We first thought of going to do Max 2, but I have an aversion towards sequels. Moreover, there is nothing more to explore in Max world. However, I want to take a cop’s role and make it very different. There are more layers in Mark and many characters are involved. It is risky, but interesting. Max is a tight person but in Mark he is very different, little fun-loving. So, there is no connection between Max and Mark.”

Also read: Mark trailer: Max gets an update in Vijay Kartikeyaa and Kiccha Sudeep latest

‘I catered to the script specifically for him’

Mark features a star ensemble, including Naveen Chandra, Yogi Babu, Vikranth, Guru Somasundaram, Shine Tom Chacko and others. On balancing these characters, Vijay Karthikeyaa admits that he had a mistake of not writing fleshed out characters in Max except for Sudeep’s character. However, that has been rectified in Mark and every role has a certain weightage. “Whatever I had missed out in Max, I had incorporated in Mark. I was also not aware of Sudeep sir’s stardom when I did the first film. So, when I got Mark opportunity, I catered to the script specifically for him.”

Vijay Kartikeyaa’s Max was compared with Tamil movie Kaithi, which also took place overnight. The director replies for this feedback that he often got, “If you see foreign movies, most of the stories take place over night. But here, we don’t have benchmarks films, and comparisons are bound to happen. At the same time, when we give a success, it is natural to follow the template already as well.” Calling filmmakers Mani Ratnam and Manivannan as his favourites, the director says that both of them changed genres in their filmography. Similarly, he too wishes to do different genres, specifically comedy. But when coming to do action thrillers which are already done to death genre, Vijay Karthikeyaa says that everything has been tried out in every genre and comparisons are to happen. “Mark is an action thriller, but it has a second half which has emotional block. In this climax, the action is not the crux, but the emotional part is the one.”

Concluding the conversation, Vijay Karthikeyaa says that he learnt a lot got to do with planning a project in a span of 4-5 months and how team work is crucial for that. After Mark, the director wants to take it slow and do something very different.

Mark FAQs

Q. Where can I watch Mark movie?

A. Mark, the 2025 Kannada movie will hit theatres on December 25.

Q. What is the next movie of Sudeep 2025?

A. Mark is Kichcha Sudeep's next film, set for Christmas 2025 release.

Q. What is cast of Kichcha Sudeep film coming out in 2025?

A. Kichcha Sudeep's Mark features Naveen Chandra, Deepshika, Guru Somasundaram, Vikranth, Roshini, Yogi Babu and others.