RIFLE RANGE BOY: An early freedom fighter!

Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham (Marakkar: Lion of Arabian Sea, Malayalam, 2021)

Screenplay / Director: Priyadarshan

Of late, many movies seem to highlight and bring to the fore the many freedom fighters in India who had been lost in the annals of history. They failed to make it into the mainstream history books as the syllabi were written either by colonists or the sympathisers of their colonial masters. It seems many of the non-Muslim empires that ruled valiantly with impressive CVs like the Cholas, Pandyas and Vijayanagar just remain in the folklores and children bedtime stories. Luckily, the current generation of scholars appears to be digging deep into the dusted palm leaves and forgotten scripts to remind everyone of the nation's fallen heroes.

Long before Jhansi Rani rode to fight the tyranny of the East India Company in 1857, there was Queen Velu Natchiyar from Sivagangai District, who holds the reputation of being the first Queen who fought the British. In 1780, with the allegiance she built with Sultan Hyder Ali of Mysore, she reclaimed her land from the British invaders. She formed the first all-women regiment named Udaiyal Army. Her aide/adopted daughter, Kuyili, is said to be the first suicide bomber. She had doused in ghee and oil, immolated herself and walked into the English ammunition depot.

Then there are Bhagat Singh, Veerapandia Kattabomman, V O Sithambaram, Chandra Bose, the INA and many more who hardly gets mentioned in the mainstream narratives. Thanks to the new generation of moviemakers, the general public is able to view these oft-forgotten icons of yesteryears on the silver screen.

The current tone in India portrays Muslim marauders as looters and destroyers of India's past wealth and glory. They bear the single burden of destroying the whole web of scientific wisdom that existed there before their invasion.

Not wanting to be left out in the sea of the revival of the long-lost Hindu warriors, Muslims of India probably dug deep into their armamentarium to unveil this 16th-century defender of the motherland. This film is perhaps the result of that.

Kunjali Marakkar
Memorial
©Nmkuttiady

In the 16th century, when pirates were hailed as national heroes, naval power was king. We remember a time in British history when the British Crown rewarded pirates for stealing off the Spanish ships that carried gold and silver from South America.

By the early 16th century, the Portuguese had reached the Malabar coast. Many European nations were eager to find an alternative route to the spice trade controlled by Arab traders. Slowly and indeed, the Portuguese befriended local warring chieftains. Trouble brewed when a new law dictated that spice could only be traded through the Portuguese, upsetting their age-old traditions.

The Marakkars are said to be seafaring people who have their origin in the Arab peninsula. They had settled in Kochi and were involved in the King navy and shipbuilding. The Marakkars had been helping to fight the Portuguese in many wars.

This movie is a biopic of the fourth Kanjali Marakkar, Kozhikode's ruler's fleet Admiral. After his family was doublecrossed, the Marakkars go underground, performing minor thefts. Their help is summoned when the local chieftains feel that a combined effort is necessary. One of the slaves aboard a Portuguese ship, Chinnali, joined the Marakkars to give the Portuguese a run for their money.