A nice surprise in the theaters is the Malayalam film Marco. Even though it only raked in Rs. 1 lakh on its first day, it did really well, especially since the Hindi version's sales dropped off pretty quickly. By January 1, it hit an amazing Rs. 1 crore, which is quite the feat considering where it started, and it kept climbing from there. The buzz from people really helped boost its success.

Unni Mukundan's performance got a great response from the audience

People really loved Unni Mukundan's performance, along with the film's blend of mass appeal and classy direction, plus the action scenes. But many viewers pointed out that the movie has quite a few jarring moments, especially leading up to the ending. In fact, the graphics were so intense that one theater decided to pull it from their lineup. Pahlaj Nihalani, who’s a producer and used to be the head of the Central Board of Film Certification, operates the Nishat Cinema on Grant Road in Mumbai.

Bollywood Hungama reached out to Nihalani to find out why things turned out this way. He explained that the graphic scenes of child murder in Marco made people uneasy. Audiences generally aren't fans of watching these kinds of films, and he believes there's no real reason to showcase something like that.

Pahlaj Nihalani's thoughts on what the film is about

Nihalani answered the question about seeing Marco with a simple "No." But he noticed the crowd's reaction when they started cheering. This theater attracts a diverse audience. Even though they typically enjoy action movies, they just couldn't get through Marco and ended up nitpicking before leaving.

He mentioned that the business is experiencing what he called "Animal syndrome" thanks to the 2023 hit featuring Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Bobby Deol, Anil Kapoor, and Triptii Dimri. According to Pahlaj, Animal's success wasn't just about the violence; the star power played a huge role too. Fans really loved the romantic scenes between the lead couple. After Animal, Bhushan Kumar offered the female lead several new projects because of her popularity. He noted that despite some mixed reviews, the film was a major hit.

The CBFC is a bit puzzled about Marco and the differences across regions

Nihalani went back to Marco and expressed the CBFC's confusion about the film's approval. He pointed out that the South film industry tends to greenlight just about anything. Sometimes, even violent movies get a U/A rating. He noted that the Mumbai members have a different vibe compared to their Southern counterparts. In Mumbai, there are quite a few members with political ties, while in the South, the members are often big fans of certain stars. They've had a more open-minded approach from the start.

The situation at CBFC, headed by Prasoon Joshi, has been a real sticking point for him. Nihalani pointed out that the CBFC guidelines aren't being adhered to. He brought up the rules for horror or supernatural films, which need an 'A' rating, and questioned whether Shaitaan actually got that 'A' certificate.

Pahlaj Nihalani takes a jab at the CBFC rules and its management

Nihalani mentioned that this board is pretty odd. Even though Padmaavat (2018) was just good, clean fun, they still wouldn’t approve it. He pointed out that Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013) was the revised title of Ram-Leela before he took over as chairperson and questioned what the point of that change was.

On February 14, 2025, Marco is set to premiere on SonyLIV.

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