Mark actor Kiccha Sudeep: After Maanikya, for the first time I got a formidable villain in…

Kiccha Sudeep says that it has been a while since he’s had a menacing and formidable villain in his films. The last time, he reckons, was in Maanikya, more than a decade ago, in which P Ravi Shanakr was the antagonist. Maanikya was the Kannada remake of the Prabhas starrer Mirchi, which Sudeep had adapted and was his last directorial.

Kiccha Sudeep on how Mark has a formidable villain, unlike Max

In the time since, Sudeep has, of course, done 7-8 films as leading man, but says that it is only now, with his next release Mark, that he’s got a daunting opponent. The Vijay Kartikeyaa directorial, though, has not one or two, but four main villains – Guru Somasundaram, Naveen Chandra, Shine Tom Chacko and Vikranth, besides the likes of Dragon Manju, etc. So, who could it be that impressed Sudeep with the writing of the character and the performance?

“Max was a film was good, but it did not have a strong villain. There were a lot of antagonists and situations were also villains in the narrative. In Mark, there is one villain, who stands out and has been established as tremendously fearsome among the four – Bhadra – played by Naveen Chandra. He’s done a fantastic job. After Maanikya, for the first time, I got a formidable villain in Naveen’s Bhadra,” said Sudeep, in conversation with Guarantee News.

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

Mark, meanwhile, is set for its December 25 theatrical release. The film has been censored U/A, with bookings for the 6 am special shows to open on December 20. Also starring Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Roshni Prakash, Yogi Babu, Archana Kottige, Pratap Narayan, Deepshika, Dev Gill, among others, Mark follows suspended cop Ajay Markandaya, as he investigates the kidnapping and killing of children, while also dealing with the politician responsible for his 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