He has been active for most part of the last decade in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu cinema. Very often it has been difficult to identify his niche. He has been applauded for his action outings, but he has also experimented with fantastical rom-coms. His Wikipedia bio describes him as an ‘actor, singer and lyricist’. As Unni Mukundan gears up for the release of Mamangam, we catch up with him over a short interview.

How did Mamangam come to you?
I had this offer 2-3 years ago and then I got busy with Michael. When I read the script, I was fascinated by my character’s Chandroth Panicker graph and it’s also the kind of cinema I wanted in my profile. I don’t do multiple projects at a time. Besides, I have previously worked with Padmakumar sir in Orissa, Pathiramanal etc.

You seem to have worked hard to look the part. Was it something insisted upon by the director?
On paper Panicker is someone who can fight 3000 men at the same time, and I thought I had to look a certain way for people to buy that on screen. Though I wasn’t really instructed to work on my body, I felt he had to look this way. So I had 3 trainers help me out. Today there is a kind of cinema evolving which doesn’t attest to a stereotypical hero image. Though mainstream cinema still might demand a certain vital statistic for an action hero, the rules are far more flexible in Malayalam today. I know for a fact that if I do it with a paunch, no one will complain. I see a lot of change happening, except actors reluctant to go for physical transformations.

Somehow that’s something people expect from you…
It’s always a kick for me to look the part. Even in Michael, Marco’s look was something I insisted. He was a cocky, arrogant guy who was too sure of himself. And since he did drugs I didn’t want to come across as this unnaturally healthy guy with 6 packs and all. I didn’t want Marco to be looked at in awe. I did some research on Marco’s lines just to make sure it wasn’t too offensive. As an actor, I am fine with any character as long as they don’t justify or glorify a crime.

You debuted in a Mammootty film….
Yes, in Bombay March and then slowly I switched from colleague, villain to now left-hand man in Mamangam. It feels great to see that I have evolved as an actor through his films. Not many actors could do that I feel.

Have you always planned your career?
Not really. And I have never been fussy about sticking to just hero roles. I think when a hero opts for the role of an antagonist, that is an add on, and people expect more from it. For me even when I am part of a multi starrer, all I wanted was to be noticed by a director and be offered a film.

Are action scenes as difficult as they look?
When you enjoy something, it automatically doesn’t seem difficult and looks easy on screen. Action is like dancing. I feel if you perform in a kind of cinema you don’t believe in it might affect your performance but that doesn’t make you a bad actor. Except for Prithviraj no one has tried to venture into that action zone. His Puthiya Mukham has influenced me a lot. I have not done an action movie except for Style but then I have also done films like KL10 Pathu, Orissa etc. I think cinema offers you the privilege to do a lot of crazy stuff which you don’t do in your normal life. That’s why I love doing films with magical elements in it—KL10 Pathu and Oru Murai Vanthu Parthaya were such attempts.

Action is like dancing. I feel if you perform in a kind of cinema you don’t believe in it might affect your performance but that doesn’t make you a bad actor.

Unni Mukundan

Does it irk you that people only talk about your prowess in action scenes?
Thing is as I said I have attempted all sorts of movies but perhaps because action films are still an unexplored zone that’s why it gets discussed. I don’t think I have half the body of some of the Bollywood actors. They get respect for doing such roles. Malayalam cinema doesn’t look upon actors who put in effort to physically transform their bodies. Dangal in Malayalam would not be discussed if someone did what Aamir Khan did.

Do you think actors should follow a certain etiquette on social media?
I use it primarily to promote my films. I also understand the fact that it’s a huge medium. I have my own opinions and ideas. When you have a platform to render voice for certain subjects use it wisely. They have superstars in every medium. Everyday a star is born. The accessibility to an actor is more. I think not responding to a good message is rude at the same time ignoring abusive messages aren’t always the right thing to do.