Unni Mukundan

Early life

Unni Mukundan was born in Thrissur, Kerala, on 22 September 1987 to Madathiparambil Mukundan Nair and Roji Mukundan. He did his schooling at Pragati Higher Secondary School in Ahmedabad and graduated in English literature and Journalism at Prajyoti Niketan College, Pudukad (Thrissur). He was brought up in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. During the early days of his career, he worked with Motif, now known as TTEC.

Career

Debut and breakthrough (2011–2013)

In 2011, Unni made his film debut with the Tamil film Seedan, a remake of the Malayalam film Nandanam. Unni entered the Malayalam film industry with Bombay March 12 featuring alongside Mammootty, directed by Babu Janardhanan. For his performance in Bombay March 12, he earned awards as best newcomer from SIIMA, Asianet Film Awards, Asiavision and Vanitha Film Awards. He played a supporting role in Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty, directed by T. K. Rajeev Kumar.

The turning point in his career came with the movie Mallu Singh (2012) directed by Vyshakh. It became a huge hit and ran for over 100 days. He did cameo appearances in movies Theevram and The Hitlist. In the same year, he appeared in Ezham Suryan and I Love Me directed by B. Unnikrishnan.

In 2013 he appeared in Ithu Pathiramanal and Orissa, both directed by M. Padmakumar. Also he was seen in D Company, an anthology of three independently shot action films.

In 2015, he was seen in supporting role in the Mammootty-starrer Fireman, directed by Deepu Karunakaran. In the same year, he played the lead role in the movie Samrajyam II: Son of Alexander as Jordan, the son of Alexander who was the protagonist in the prequel. His next release was KL 10 Patthu written and directed by debutant Muhsin Parari.

In 2016, he did the action thriller movie Style which turned out to be a decent commercial entertainer. He was then seen in the critically acclaimed movie Kaattum Mazhayum and fantasy romantic comedy film Oru Murai Vanthu Parthaya.

Regional films (2014–2021)

Unni made his Tollywood debut with the film Janatha Garage in an antagonistic role as Raghava, son of Sathyam (Mohanlal). The film was both commercially successful and critically acclaimed. It was among the highest grossing Telugu films of the year.

In the 2017 film Achayans, he made his debut as a lyricist and singer. In the same year, he was seen in another multi-starrer movie Avarude Raavukal along with Asif Ali which received mixed reviews. In August of the same year, Clint by director Harikumar was released, in which he played the role of Joseph, father of Edmund Thomas Clint, a child prodigy known for having drawn over 25,000 paintings during his short life of seven years. He was seen in two different looks as a 35-year old and a 73-year-old man in the film. For this film he received Ramu Kariat Movie Award for the Best Actor. His next releases of 2017 was Mammootty-starrer Masterpiece in which he played the villain and Tharangam in which he had an extended cameo.

In 2018, he did the Tamil-Telugu bilingual film Bhaagamathie featuring Anushka Shetty which was commercially successful and critically acclaimed. His next releases were two thriller movies Ira and Chanakyathanthram. Both the films received positive reviews and were commercially successful.

His first release of 2019 was Haneef Adeni's Mikhael, in which he was the antagonist Marco Jr. He was then seen in the film Meppadiyan which had a theatrical release on 14 January 2022. Later, he was seen in the Telugu film Khiladi.

''Malikappuram'' and beyond (2022–present)

His next appearance was in Malikappuram which earned him critical acclaim and praise. In the Telugu film Yashoda, he portrayed a negative role.

In 2024, he starred in Jai Ganesh, which he also produced, and portrayed a negative character in the Tamil film, Garudan. He next starred in Marco, a spin-off of the eponymous character from Mikhael which opened to positive reviews, it emerged as a huge box-office success and also his first 100 crore film, further cementing his position as a bankable artist.

Other work

Unni launched his film production company Unni Mukundan Films (UMF) on 17 August 2020. Under this banner Unni Mukundan produced films: Meppadiyan (2022), Shefeekkinte Santhosham (2022), Jai Ganesh (2024) and Marco (2024).

Unni made his debut as a lyricist and singer with Achayans.

Philanthropy

Unni sponsored road safety measures by appearing in the motor vehicle department's advertisements.

Filmography

• Note: all films are in Malayalam, unless explicitly mentioned.

Television

Discography

Awards

References

References

1. Nair, Sree Prasad. (22 September 2016). "Happy Birthday Unni Mukundan : 12 fun facts about 'Mallu Sallu'".
2. Karthikeyan, Shruti. "I don't mind being a 'replacement' actor: Unni Mukundan".
3. Nair, Sree Prasad. (15 July 2016). "With Oru Murai Vanthu Parthaya, Unni Mukundan delivers hat-trick after KL 10 and Style".
4. (22 January 2023). "'Malikappuram' box office collection: Unni Mukundan starrer enters the 50- crore club".
5. Dixit, Mohit. (2024-12-27). "Marco Day 8 Kerala Box Office: Unni Mukundan's Blockbuster closes in on mammoth Rs 30 crore".
6. "'Mohanlal suggested Unni Mukundan'". The Times of India.
7. Singh, Jatinder. (10 June 2024). "Garudan box office collections: Earns 44Cr Worldwide in 10 Days, Headed for 50Cr mark".
8. "Unni Mukundan".
9. "Unni Mukundan malayalam actor Profile, Films, News, Vide".
10. Deshmukh, Ashwini. (2 April 2018). "Filmfare Exclusive! Muscle Aliyan, Unni Mukundan, talks about films, family and fitness".
11. (12 June 2017). "Unni Mukundan House".
12. (11 August 2017). "കൊതിച്ചതും വിധിച്ചതും, Interview – Mathrubhumi Movies". mathrubhumi.com.
13. Palicha, Paresh C. (1 July 2011). "Review: Bombay March 12 is hard-hitting".
14. Sidhardhan, Sanjith. (1 November 2011). "Unni Mukundan is determined to make it big". [[The Times of India]].
15. Sudhish, Navamy. (13 October 2011). "Game to fame: Unni Mukundan". [[The New Indian Express]].
16. (1 October 2011). "Unni Mukundan in Talsamayam Oru Pattikutti". City Journal.
17. Gomez, Selena. (11 August 2017). "Clint Malayalam movie Review, Clint Movie Rating (3/5) News – Public Talk – QuintDaily".
18. (26 August 2012). "On cloud nine". The Hindu.
19. "Ezham Suryan Malayalam Movie Review {{!}} Critics Review {{!}} CineBee App".
20. "I Love Me".
21. (28 May 2013). "Malayalam film 'Orissa' to be released in Raja festival". The Pioneer.
22. "D Company review. D Company Malayalam movie review, story, rating".
23. (29 January 2015). "'Fireman' trailer: Mammootty and Unni Mukundan play the two conscientious men in red hats".
24. (12 July 2012). "Samrajyam 2 – Son of Alexander (2015) – Samrajyam 2 – Son of Alexander Malayalam Movie".
25. "KL 10 Pathu Movie Review {3/5}: Critic Review of KL 10 Pathu by Times of India". Times of India.
26. "'Style' review: Determination drives".
27. (27 May 2016). "Oru Murai Vanthu Parthaya Review-Rating-Report".
28. (29 January 2016). "Actor Unni Mukundan to play the baddie in Jr. NTR-starrer 'Janatha Garage'". The Indian Express.
29. (31 March 2017). "Jr NTR's Janatha Garage, Rakshit Shetty's Krik Party sweep IIFA Utsavam 2017".
30. "Unni Mukundan's song from 'Achayans' to be out on March 25". The Times of India.
31. (15 May 2017). "When Unni Mukundan worked hard to drop his six-pack look".
32. "Avarude Ravukal Movie Review {2.5/5}: Critic Review of Avarude Ravukal by Times of India". The Times of India.
33. (28 July 2017). "Unni's makeover for Clint". The New Indian Express.
34. "Ramu Kariat Movie Awards: Unni Mukundan bags his first best actor award for Clint".
35. Soman, Deepa. (11 November 2017). "Unni Mukundan's look in 'Masterpiece' says a lot more about John Thekkan". The Times of India.
36. "Bhaagamathie: Anushka Shetty, Unni Mukundan starrer emerges the first super hit of 2018".
37. Adivi, Sashidhar. (30 January 2017). "Unni Mukundan is a big fan of Anushka".
38. "Cross-dressed Unni Mukundan meets parents at 'Chanakyathanthram' site".
39. "Chanakya Thanthram Review {3/5}: A suspense thriller, which is also a leisurely watch. If you are an Unni Mukundan fan, this film is for you.". The Times of India.
40. "Unni Mukundan is thrilled to play the villain in 'Mikhael'".
41. (18 May 2019). "Grand sets erected final schedule of Mammoottys maamaankam".
42. "Use social media to inspire society: Unni Mukundan".
43. (15 January 2022). "'Meppadiyan': Unni Mukundan impresses with an earnest turn".
44. (12 February 2019). "Motion poster Unni Mukundans meppadiyan released".
45. Sidhardhan, Sanjith. "Unni Mukundan: I don't want to stay inside my comfort zone". The Times of India.
46. "Malikappuram Movie Review : Kids' movie on faith". [[The Times of India]].
47. (2022-10-17). "Samantha's Yashoda to release in theatres on November 11".
48. Features, C. E.. (2023-11-16). "Unni Mukundan's Jai Ganesha first look is out".
49. "Garudan Review - A Distinctive Rural Subject with Engaging Screenwriting!".
50. (17 August 2020). "Unni Mukundan {{!}} നടൻ ഉണ്ണി മുകുന്ദൻ ഇനി നിർമ്മാതാവ്; ചിങ്ങം ഒന്നിന് പുതിയ സംരംഭത്തിന് ആരംഭം". News18 Malayalam.
51. Mathews, Anna. (18 August 2020). "Unni Mukundan launches film production company". The Times of India.
52. (19 August 2020). "Unni Mukundan launches own production house". The New Indian Express.
53. George, Anjana. "Unni Mukundan turns lyricist and singer for Achayans". The Times of India.
54. ssgcell. (29 June 2017). "ROAD SAFETY {{!}} AWARENESS FILM {{!}} USE DIM LIGHT AT NIGHT".
55. (3 November 2022). "Malayalam actor Unni Mukundan hints that he is part of 'Thalapathy 67' with a photo similar to the first look of 'Master'".
56. Pillai, Radhika C. (28 June 2014). "Unni Mukundan to do a cameo in Rajadhi Raja!". [[The Times of India]].
57. "#CatchChitChat: Grateful to Mohanlal for Janatha Garage, says Unni Mukundan".
58. Jayaram, Deepika. (6 April 2017). "Unni Mukundan's song crosses 5 lakh views". The Times of India.
59. Soman, Deepa. (27 January 2017). "Unni Mukundan is a social activist in Bhagmati".
60. (5 July 2019). "ഒരുപടി മുകളിൽ 'പതിനെട്ടാം പടി'".
61. (1 February 2021). "Unni Mukundan roped in for Ravi Teja, Ramesh Varma's ''Khiladi''". The Times of India.
62. (17 October 2022). "Samantha's Yashoda to release in theatres on November 11".
63. (7 December 2023). "Trailer of Mukesh, Unni Mukundan starrer Kadhikan is here".
64. (2023-12-04). "Mahima Nambiar joins 'Jai Ganesh', speaks about her experience". [[The Times of India]].
65. (19 January 2024). "Soori's film with Durai Senthil Kumar titled 'Garudan'; title glimpse out".
66. Features, C. E.. (2024-08-28). "It's a wrap for Unni Mukundan's Marco".
67. The Hindu Bureau. (2024-01-04). "'Get-Set Baby!': Unni Mukundan's next commences production". The Hindu.
68. Service, Express News. (2025-07-20). "ജയരാജിന്‍റെ നായകനായി മുകേഷ്; 'മെഹ്‍ഫിലി'ലെ ഗാനമെത്തി".
69. Service, Express News. (2023-07-21). "Mindiyum Paranjum picked at Indian film festival, Alberta".
70. (2025-09-17). "'Maa Vande': 'Marco' actor Unni Mukundan to play PM Narendra Modi - ' A man’s story that rises beyond battles'". The Times of India.
71. (30 January 2017). "Unni Mukundan turns singer for 'Achayans'". The New Indian Express.
72. (12 February 2018). "Unni Mukundan turns singer again".
73. Narayan, Adithya. (6 August 2018). "Unni Mukundan Turns Singer For Mammootty's 'Oru Kuttanadan Blog'".
74. (28 June 2017). "Unni Mukundan is a Mammootty fan".
75. Vyas. (27 November 2011). "Unnimukundan – New Face in Acting @ Asiavision Movie Awards '11".
76. "malayalamcinema.com, Official website of AMMA, Malayalam Film news, Malayalam Movie Actors & Actress, Upcoming Malayalam movies".
77. "Unni Mukundan {{!}} Awards {{!}} JAIHIND TV FILM AWARDS".
78. "Amrita Film Awards 2012".
79. "SIIMA AWARDS {{!}} 2012 {{!}} winners {{!}} {{!}}".
80. "PravasiExpress Awards 2013 {{!}} PravasiExpress".
81. "2nd Anand TV Awards 2017-Winners List {{!}} Watch show on Asianet on 13th August 2017".
82. (12 August 2017). "Red FM Malayalam Music Awards 2017 Photos".
83. "Unni Mukundan {{!}} Awards".
84. "Creative Film Awards 2019: Kayamkulam Kochunni and June Win Big".
85. Nair, Aishwarya. (19 July 2022). "Unni Mukundan and Vishnu Mohan win prestigious J.C. Daniel Award for Meppadiyan".