Mukundan Unni Associates director reveals the connection between its protagonist and Christian Bale’s American Psycho

Ever since director Abhinav Sunder Nayak’s Mukundan Unni Associates dropped on Disney+ Hotstar, audiences across the country have been lauding the dark comedy and especially its protagonist – a morally corrupt and narcissistic lawyer essayed by Vineeth Sreenivasan.

One factor that made Vineeth’s character cruel and at the same time humorous was his voice-overs that served to reflect his thoughts as he sets about a path to success through any means necessary.

Also read: Mukundan Unni Associates: Response of elder audience defied expectations, says Abhinav Sunder Nayak | Exclusive 

In a recent tweet, the film’s director had mentioned the reference for the scenes where Mukundan Unni keeps talking to himself, often poking fun at others’ inability to succeed or chastising himself when he encounters challenges.

When one user mentioned that the concept could be borrowed from the US crime drama Dexter, which revolved around a sociopath, Abhinav pointed out that it was in fact from a film with another serial killer – American Psycho. The 2000 Hollywood film starred Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman and used the character’s conversations with himself to depict his mind’s inner workings.

Also read: Exclusive! Vineeth Sreenivasan: Mukundan Unni Associates has me playing a character with no virtues 

Incidentally, the voiceovers for Mukundan Unni Associates were added at a much later stage of the film’s post production. Abhinav, in an earlier interview with us, said to make the protagonist relatable to the audience, he ensured that the film only focused on him and not the other characters, who had virtues that the viewers could connect with.

“So, the first rule was that I would only stick with Mukundan Unni and all other characters would be shown through his eyes. The other aspect was during the editing process, when I added the voiceovers, which I believe boosted the connection with the audience,” he said.

The movie, which also has Suraj Venjaramoodu, Sudhi Koppa, Tanvi Ram and Arsha Baiju, is also set to get a sequel next year. Abhinav confirmed that he will be working on Mukundan Unni Associates 2 after he completes another project. “I am currently working on two scripts that are fresh ideas. The sequel will begin only after that,” he said.