Mark Antony (2023 film)

Mark Antony is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language science fiction action comedy film directed by Adhik Ravichandran. The film stars Vishal, S. J. Suryah and Ritu Varma, with Sunil, Selvaraghavan, Abhinaya, Y. G. Mahendran, Nizhalgal Ravi, Redin Kingsley and Manikandan in supporting roles. In the film, Mark, the son of a gangster Antony, finds a telephone which can contact the past, but Madhan, the son of rival gangster Jackie, wants it for himself.

The film, produced by S. Vinod Kumar under Mini Studio, was officially announced in December 2021 under the tentative title Vishal 33, as it is Vishal's 33rd film as the lead actor, and the official title was revealed in January 2022. Principal photography began in May 2022 and wrapped by May 2023. The music was composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, while the cinematography and editing were handled by Abinandhan Ramanujam and Vijay Velukutty.

Mark Antony was released in theatres on 15 September 2023, during Vinayagar Chathurthi. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and grossed over ₹100 crore, becoming the highest-grossing film in Vishal's career.

Plot
In 1975, Chiranjeevi, a scientist, invents a telephone that enables its users to make calls to people in the past by selecting a past date, with a constraint that only one call can be made for each selected date. Meanwhile, Antony and Jackie Pandian are best friends and gangsters in Chennai, who have a common enemy named Ekambaram. Ekambaram decides to take revenge against Antony for killing his brother. He kills Antony in a club, also resulting in Chiranjeevi getting killed. Jackie soon becomes the solo kingpin and adopts Mark, Antony's son, and raises him like his own son.

In 1995, Mark, now a mechanic in Royapuram, hates Antony for being responsible for his mother Vedhavalli's death. He is in love with his neighbour Ramya and decides to get married soon. He decides to sell his garage and move away from Royapuram but Jackie does not allow him fearing for his safety. At the registrar office Ekambaram tries to shoot Jackie but gets killed that night by the latter. Ramya's mother gets to know that Mark is Antony's son and asks him to leave her alone.

One day, a drunken Mark finds Chiranjeevi's telephone and realises its capabilities. Using the telephone, he first saves his mother and his younger self from Ekambaram and his men. He then warns Advocate Selvam about his upcoming demise and asks him to meet him in 1995 at his garage. Mark soon learns from Selvam that Antony was not a bad person and was made to believe it by Jackie, the actual mastermind behind Antony and Vedhavalli's deaths, as Antony refused Jackie's involvement in illegal activities like drug smuggling, arms trafficking and prostitution. Mark manages to change history by making calls to the past, where Jackie is killed.

Mark soon wakes up in the present to find that he is in Jackie's place as a gangster with Ekambaram as his guardian, while Jackie's son Madhan is in Mark's place as a mechanic. Madhan soon learns about the telephone and Mark's involvement in changing the history previously, which he informs to Jackie. A cat-and-mouse game ensues where Jackie makes various attempts to kill Antony, but Antony survives all the attempts and learns about Jackie's true intentions. Jackie and his men surround Antony and Ekambaram at the club and Antony is seemingly killed. Mark awakens in the present to find himself back as a mechanic along with Ekambaram, while Jackie is still alive and Madhan is a gangster.

Madhan kidnaps Ramya and orders Mark to arrive at the club godown. Mark arrives and is thrashed by Madhan and Jackie's men. However, Antony arrives at the godown; it is revealed that Ekambaram saved Antony in the club shootout and had sent him to Colombia due to many encounter killings of gangsters by the police. Antony gained the partnership of the Colombian underworld as Jackie usually sent commission to the gangsters under Antony's name. Antony kills all of Jackie's henchmen at the godown by using his secret weapon Anaconda, and finally kills Jackie and Madhan. Antony reunites with Mark and calls Vedhavalli in the past, who is being held at gunpoint by Chiranjeevi, wanting his telephone back. Chiranjeevi discovers, to his horror, that Jackie is holding him at gunpoint.

Production
In September 2021, it was reported that Vishal would team with Adhik Ravichandran for a film and would be produced by S. Vinod Kumar under Mini Studio. In December, it was officially confirmed by the team that they are teaming up for the tentatively titled project Vishal 33. The same month, S. J. Suryah was reported to play the antagonist and was confirmed on New Year's Day, along with the title Mark Antony, named after Raghuvaran's character from Baashha (1995). Later, G. V. Prakash Kumar was added to the crew to compose the music. In May 2022, the team announced Ritu Varma as the female lead, while Sunil and Nizhalgal Ravi appear in prominent roles. Vishnu Priya Gandhi, a social media influencer, was chosen by the makers to portray Silk Smitha due to her resemblance. Make-up and visual effects were used to further enhance her resemblance to Smitha.

Principal photography began on 5 May 2022 with a muhurat puja in Chennai. The first schedule took place in Chennai, with Varma joining them in July. The shooting was placed on hold because Vishal got injured during shooting in August and resumed in October with the second schedule. The final schedule started in January 2023 and was nearing shooting completion. Suryah completed shooting his portions in April. In May, Vishal and Sunil finished their portions with a cake-cutting. Vishal started dubbing for his portions in May. In July, Vishal, via Twitter, stated that the dubbing was in the final stages.

Soundtrack
The music was composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar in his second collaboration with Vishal after Naan Sigappu Manithan (2014) and second with Adhik Ravichandran after Trisha Illana Nayanthara (2015) and first with S. J. Suryah. The first single "Adhirudha" released on 15 July 2023 and the second single "I Love You Di" on 23 August 2023.

Release
Mark Antony was released on 14 September 2023, during Vinayagar Chathurthi. According to Vishal, he had to pay a bribe of inr 650000 to a Mumbai censor board official to ensure its Hindi dubbed version's release.

Home media
The post-theatrical streaming rights of the film were initially acquired by ZEE5, which eventually lost the rights to Amazon Prime Video. The satellite rights were sold to Zee Tamil. The film began streaming on Prime Video from 13 October 2023.

Critical response
OTTPlay reported that Mark Antony received positive reviews from critics, while The Times of India noted they were mixed.

Logesh Balachandran of The Times of India gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Mark Antony is not a great film, but it's quite a refreshing entertainer that delivers what it promises." Krishna Selvaseelan of Tamil Guardian gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Overall, although oftentimes headache inducing and downright nonsensical, Ravichandran should be lauded for a unique and entertaining film".

Janani K of India Today gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Mark Antony is a valiant effort and, with certain shortcomings, it still manages to engage the audience and leave them in splits." Kirubhakar Purushothaman of The Indian Express gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "SJ Suryah single handedly saves Mark Antony from becoming a redundant mess."

Gautaman Bhaskaran of News18 gave 2/5 stars and wrote "Vishal and SJ Suryah are wasted in a whacky and crazy script." Sangeetha P of OTTPlay gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Mark Antony, packed with many exciting and mass moments, and despite its many flaws, makes for an entertaining watch. While Vishal is back with a bang, SJ Suryah turns out to be the star of this commercial entertainer."

Bharathy Singaravel of The News Minute gave 2/5 stars and wrote "While actor Vishal plays a predictable double role as Mark and Antony, director Adhik Ravichandran has thrown in a generous helping of sexualising trans women, and homophobia." Priyanka Sundar of Firstpost gave 2/5 stars and wrote "Mark Antony squandered its potential, leaving us with a lingering sense of dissatisfaction."