Malikappuram star Unni Mukundan: There was never a phase in my career where I doubted myself | Exclusive

With Malikappuram’s massive success, Malayalam star Unni Mukundan has proved the point that he has been yearning to for a while now. The actor’s stock has now risen multi-fold and he has also admitted that producers have now agreed to fund bigger projects with him in the lead, thanks to the box office success of his latest movie.

In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, Unni said, “When I started my career, I played villain roles, then I become a leading actor and then I did supporting characters. During all these phases, I have got feedback that I have been sidelined and people don’t see as a mainstream hero. They said that now that the audience have seen me as a villain, they will never accept me as a hero. I would hear all of this. Even when people would discuss the top actors in Malayalam, I was never in that list.”

Also read: Malikappuram actor Unni Mukundan says he wasn’t considered in the list of top actors in Malayalam a year ago 

Unni said that all this made him “consciously quit action movies and completely change my pattern”. “But there was never a point or a day where I doubted myself. I never felt that I won’t make a comeback,” explained the actor.

Malikappuram, which has already grossed over Rs 40 crore from worldwide box office, is now set to release in Tamil and Telugu from January 26. In Malayalam, the movie is still going strong beating fresh releases and scaling new heights every week. Malikappuram, which released on December 30, had withstood the challenges of Ajith’s Thunivu, Vijay’s Varisu, Mammootty’s Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam and Manju Warrier’s Ayisha to not only hold steady in theatres, but also increase its screens week-on-week. In fact, the movie scored its highest single-day gross from Kerala theatres on its 24th day, the past Sunday.

Also read: Unni Mukundan: I’m not a propagandist, Malikappuram worked as it was accepted by people of all religions | Exclusive 

Theatre exhibitors have also been pivotal in supporting the film as it is bringing in family audience, who had stayed away from cinema halls since the pandemic.