Marthanda Varma is a 1933 black and white Indian silent film directed by P. V. Rao, based on the 1891 Malayalam novel by C. V. Raman Pillai.

[1][2] Based on the novel Marthandavarma, the film recounts the adventures of the Crown Prince, Marthanda Varma, and how he eliminates his arch rivals one by one, so as to ascend to the throne of the Kingdom of Travancore.

The film also featured with a seven-minute actual newsreel footage of temple procession of the late Sri.

[3] The movie was released through Shri Rajeswari Films in 1933 at Capitol theatre,[9] Thiruvananthapuram of Thiruvithaankoor.

The movie ran into copyright problems during its release with the publishers of the novel in that period, Kamalalaya Book Depot[10] and was withdrawn from screenings after its opening day, following a court order marking the first copyright case[11] in the Indian film industry and literature publishing of Kerala.