Mention Unni Mukundan and what comes to your mind, it is these chiseled abs he displays on the screen time and time again. In his roller coaster ride as an actor, Unni has come a long way, but his determination and commitment to the art of film has helped him stand out. He The actor is now preparing to share the screen with the legendary Mammootty at Mamangam. So, everyone prepares to watch him perform glittering stunts on the big screen, we had a frank conversation with the actor about the mega project and his journey so far.
There’s a lot of buzz around your next movie – Mamangam, how did the movie happen to you?
This film came to me about two and a half years ago. This time, I could not keep the dates. I started my career at Mammookka (Mammootty) sir. I played the role of a Muslim from an Orthodox family. So, in the film, we showed how people are brainwashed to join Jihad, but my characters resist because he does not want his religion to dictate his life. Later, I played in another movie with Mammookka in which we played firefighters. My character in the movie was very real to his work and his life. As an actor, I have always been lucky to receive good films when I play alongside Mammookka. So, I always knew that Mamangam would be good. Also, in Malayalam cinema, you rarely get vintage movies or costumed dramas as often as you see in other languages. With Mamangam, we also shelved about Rs. 50 crore which is quite huge for a malayalam movie. We try to push the ladders and put the malayalam cinema on a bigger pedestal. So it’s very special for me because earlier I could not be part of it, and then two years later it came back to me. I always feel “Dane dane mein likha hai khane wale ka naam”. I was convinced that I would not be able to do it and two years later, when it was proposed again, I was prepared for it and I really worked hard. In fact, I have the impression that there are many more period dramas than they were at the time. Even in Bollywood, there is Panipat, Tanhaji and all . so this phase of larger-than-life films, featuring historical events, is coming back slowly.
It’s only been 3 days since the movie trailer was released and it has already reached about 3 million views. What kind of response did you receive from your fans and industry friends?
I am very happy with the answer, especially since it has been underway for almost 2 years now. The Malaysian audience in particular is very excited, the main reason being that this kind of movies is not done very often. Mammookka is also someone who has done it more than once or twice. He did it in his mid-30s at Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989) and there was Pazhassi Raja (2000) who was based on King Pazhassi and his battle against the British. So it was so good to have it on the set. Several times I went to him for advice and asked him how he would proceed. For the rest of us, it was really new, but for someone who did it before he knew what is there and what can be done. It must have seemed authentic. I am sure that in my future career, I will play more such roles, but it will always be special for me.
Tell us about your character in the movie?
In Mamangam, I play the character called Chandroth Panicker. Chandroth is this young rebel warrior who was very famous at the time. As the film speaks of those people who fought against the ruler Zamorin. He was a leader who had about 10 or 12 states under him. Valluvanadu is that particular clan of Nair and they were basically warriors who did not want to yield to the zamorin rulers and they fought against them. Mamangam was a fair where rulers from different places came to present their offerings to the king. But this group of people was going to fight the Zamorins and they ended up becoming rebels. That was the challenge. Every 12 years, the fair came back and they put an open challenge in which they were never defeated. The purpose of the film was to show how these men fought for their beliefs and refused to submit to a system by force. It was a very difficult film for me because I had to adapt to the language style that was spoken at that time. So it was very different from the movies I did before.
How was the shooting experience with Prachi Tehlan in the film?
She appears as very talented and enthusiastic. She has a big presence on the screen . and extremely big. A little after meeting her, I realized she was really passionate about sports. Thus, the sportsmanship and all the good qualities that an athlete has, she brings in her acting. Two completely different professions but the desire to learn and improvise has helped a lot. So, it was great to see someone who changed profession and who always appears as this very confident personality . it was very admirable.
Apart from that, you also aligned Meppadiyan with Vishnu Mohan. It is said that the film is based on real events. Comment this.
Meppadiyan literally means the person and address mentioned above. It’s something you see in stamp papers. As in the letters, we say, “As mentioned above”. So you can understand that this is related to some documents. So, I can not reveal much about the film, but I can tell you that I play this guy named Jai Krishnan, extremely ethical. I always thought that the reason I chose the script was because it was a good script and then I connected with my character. Nowadays, it is very difficult to find someone like that. Jo zabaan ka pakka bolte hai na . it’s just like that and for that reason the movie is moving forward. He is in trouble because he sticks to his ethics. All this has happened for real. And after playing a warrior at Mamangam, I had to reduce all my muscles for this role. This character happens to be a mechanic so I had to work on my form and my body language.
As an actor, what is your process of selecting a film or, as they say, choosing a script? Do you intend to choose a different film from your previous work?
I pray first for the fact that I have a good script in hand. When you go through a hundred, you find one that you feel you want to be part of. In addition, it must arrive at the right time for you. Everything must happen in an organic way. So for me, first the script must be good and then I have to see that there should be something for me to grow as an actor. It’s a cumulative process. Sometimes what happens is that I really want the movie to go well. You do not have to take all the light. I always look at the situation as a whole. I feel that I am nothing more than a part of the huge process. Over a period of time, I realized that if something goes wrong, it affects the movie. So, it’s not a one-man show. I pray to have a good team as passionate about cinema as me.
You made your film debut in 2011 with the Tamil film Seedan, having worked in the industry for all these years, what changes do you see in the genre of films and in the public eye.
I think I was able to witness the transition from film to digital. My 6 films were filmed and the others were on the digital platform. Now, from the realization process to the public reaction . everything has changed. Everything is on sale now. If you take any subject and can tell it correctly, they are ready to go through it. It’s not like they want one type of movie. Moreover, no image is attached to a hero. He does not necessarily have to look in a certain way or to be the “good guy”. It’s more content-oriented now. Although mass films have always been supported, I am not a big fan of them. They are more entertainment only. But I think parallel cinema is now more widely recognized than it was before.
Today, the public is more open to consuming different types of content.
Today, the public is even encouraged to consume regional cinema. They accept it more. This is not the case if I speak Hindi, I will only watch Hindi films or if I am Malayalam, I will only watch Malay films. People are ready to watch movies even with subtitles now. I think they are eager to explore the varied natures that India as a nation highlights with movements. I know five languages. So, as an actor, I would also like to explore different cinemas and experiment with different characters, different types of movies and different dialects.
Do you intend to be in a traditional Bollywood movie?
I would like. That’s one of the reasons I make my voice for a film like Mamangam, it’s like building a profile and letting people know we’re here. My colleagues like Dulquer Salmaan, who recently played in some Bollywood films and Prithviraj Sukumaran did it before him. So there are many actors who want it. Also the fact that I was born in Gujarat, so I am comfortable with Hindi as well as Gujarati. So, language for me is never a problem. I’m doing pretty well at Malayalam cinema and I have also made two Telugu movies. So, I just want to keep exploring and let time take its course.
With which actor and filmmaker Hindi would you like to work if you have the opportunity.
I like Anurag Kashyap, Kabir Khan, Rajkumar Hirani, Neeraj Pandey and even Nitesh Tiwari. So, there are a lot of filmmakers whose work I love and I would like to have a collaboration someday.
Actors…?
I am a big fan of Hrithik Roshan. I always wanted to be a director. And if I could manage it someday, it would really mean a lot to me. Let’s see there is a lot of time but this one thing will always remain in my heart. I started as an assistant director and I gradually became an actor. At first, I played the role of a villain later, I played a supporting role and in my fifth film, I became a hero. So it was a very progressive progression, I even wrote songs and played. So, everything has just . evolved.
In your film Clint, you tried the role of a man of 72 and 34 years, which was phenomenal. Therefore, how difficult or easy is it for you to get into the skin of your character for a movie, particularly difficult roles?
They are real men. Joseph was Clint’s father and he was a prodigy. We wanted to portray him and the life of this man. It was one of the most disturbing films because for the first time in my life, I had a headache at the end. It was very disturbing to get an idea and to try to understand the spirit of the father who knew that his child would not survive. I feel that I was too young for that. Maybe because my parental instinct has just started. So when I started making these lines and feeling the kya hai yaar scene, it was so well written and immediately there was a setback and it was no longer a scene for me because it had actually happened . It broke me. That’s when I decided that I did not want to get into someone’s personal space and get out of it.
How well do you take seriously or seriously what critics have to say about your movies? Often a film becomes such a commercial success, but critics do not agree, what is your approach?
It affects a lot. I mean sometimes I hear them and I think that’s not how it meant but it’s like that. Initially, I tried to explain it a lot. I did not stop justifying everything. But as the years went by and the numbers grew, I found myself helpless. But even today, when I have the release of an upcoming movie, I review the comments and see what every fucking person has to say because I want to know. All my efforts I have made are precisely for that. It can be good or bad, but an opinion is an opinion. So I trained to get through. I feel that when you criticize someone, you try to remove their uniqueness. People tell you to walk like that, to talk like that, to behave like that, to sit like that . all these things take away the uniqueness you bring. It’s not my good qualities but my faults that make me who I am. More than me, I worry about what’s wrong with the movie.
Are you more of an actor than a director or want to add your own point of view once you are in front of the camera?
If I look back today, all the success I’ve had in my career happened when I had a very personalized and monitored approach with my director still very involved. I feel that I tend to offer a lot and sometimes it’s not just necessary. You do not know how much is too much. That’s why a director is very important for an actor like me. So, if I had to say it, I’m a director’s actor knowingly or unknowingly. But I also try to put myself a lot in the character. It’s not like I’m just following the notes. But, I have to watch myself . that’s how I like it. There is a lot of back and forth with me and the director and I like this thing. Unless and until the director says that the decision is correct, I’m ready to continue.
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