Mukundan Unni Associates

Going into the film, after hearing about the movie a lot and from the trailers, it seemed Vineeth was playing a hilarious sociopath and that was the part I was most apprehensive about. Even though I liked his role in Thanneermathan, I wasn't ready to watch a full-blown version of that throughout a movie, which would be unbearable and what I feared. But that wasn't the case here. Vineeth was brilliant and played the character to perfection, very different from anything we've seen him before.

Mukundan Unni is wickedly brilliant in his own way but the major problem along with his lack of empathy is the narcissism that always makes him overestimate himself. As a character, Mukundan Unni is pure evil, but his overestimation of himself makes him appealing. He is ready to put in the hard work but he doesn't see his flaws due to his narcissism and lack of empathy. So, even when his plans are logically right, it doesn't always work but he can form a new one right then and one or the other works out and if there is no luck there, there's actual luck that itself is a domino effect of his own past actions. All these aspects are seen through his own eyes and tight editing and a few cinematic techniques in the narrative keep you engaged throughout the affair. But giving such an evil character such heroic moments may get out of hand or even if it isn't, it's still an outlook from his point of view and that's why I loved how the movie ends. It clearly shows what is right and wrong to the audience and how we should be looking at evil even when it is pleasing to us and yet the voice-over narration by the protagonist tells the exact opposite of it.

Besides clearly positioning itself as a dark comedy through a sociopath, the film actually showcases a lot of legal and ethical issues in our society in detail.

One particular scene that is not directly related to any event in the movie but contains the whole theme of the movie, hell the whole concept of success in the world is when the character Meenakshi talks to Jyothi. To some, it would be just greed talking and they would have to face karma, to some, it would be a moment of motivation even if it is in a wrong sense but that dialogue is the truth about the world. I won't say what that dialogue is but another dialogue by Mukundan Unni, which is part of the trailers and promotions makes the perfect companion dialogue to it, "There are only two kinds of people in the world, those who get exploited and those who are exploiters."

Not including any songs, starting off with 4:3 aspect ratio, later changing to 16:9 and then finally filling the theater screen and then adding a post-credit scene that's perfectly in sync with the character, the director really knows what he's doing and the changing sensibilities among Malayali audience.

Imagine a movie featuring Sreenivasan's ultra-despicable character "Viswanathan" from "Mukunthetta Sumitra Vilikkunnu (1988)" as the main protagonist? That is exactly the wacky idea with which editor turned director Abhinav Sundar Nayak has conceived the immensely enjoyable black comedy "Mukundan Unni Associates" that throws caution to the wind and delivers a laugh riot sans any moral sermons or lessons about karma.

Vineeth Sreenivasan stars as a Machiavellian lawyer who stars venturing into ambulance chasing on realizing that conventional methods will not give him the success that he so craves. Standing in his way is veteran ambulance chaser Advocate Venu (a superb Suraj Venjaramoodu) and a host of other roadblocks which he looks to circumvent in typically diabolical ways. The way the director uses fourth-wall breaking and inner monologues to take the narrative forward is nothing short of genius and it is through this that he delivers most of the zany comedy in the film.

The casting is spot on throughout the film, with even minor characters playing their part to perfection, especially Tanvi Ram, George Kora, Sudhi Koppa and a fine Arsha Chandini Baiju, who had earlier caught the eye in the Karikku web series "Average Ambili". The writing from the director himself and co-writer Vimal Gopalakrishnan never let the tension and humor let up, carrying both forward with equal aplomb and even manage deliver some jarring surprises just when we think the film's climax is starting to meander along expected lines.

Just when Basil Joseph was starting to stake a claim for the title of this generation's "Sreenivasan" with his immense performance in "Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey", Vineeth Sreenivasan produces the goods in "Mukundan Unni Associates", turning in a performance his dad would have been proud of. This is the fourth-wall breaking meta dark comedy that we didn't know we deserved and is, needless to say, highly recommended!

I never imagined Vineeth Sreenivasan surprising me the way he did with his sublime portrayal of an anti-hero in this film. The role of Adv. Mukundan Unni is undoubtedly his career-best thus far. Writer-director Abhinav Sunder Nayak carefully builds up the sadistic, cynical character of Mukundan Unni who goes to any extent to achieve his idea of success. It's the kind of role Jake Gyllenhaal did in Dan Gilroy's Nightcrawler - just a different breed of "bad guy". The screenplay (by Vimal Gopalakrishnan and the director himself) is razor-sharp in its details, and there isn't a single scene that doesn't add to the plot or character development. The darkly humorous approach works wonders here, making us absolutely invested in the sociopathic side of Mukundan Unni and his dramatic rise to prosperity.

Not only does the film prove to be a scathing look at cynicism, but it also gives you an insider look into the bizarre handling of accident cases. Every character taking up screenspace (incl. A snake) is relevant to the plot, and ones that leave a mark include an excellent-as-usual Suraj Venjaramoodu, a confident Arsha Baiju, a beautifully vulnerable Tanvi Ram, and the ever-dependable Sudhi Koppa. One can't help but laud the effective use of background score (by Sibi Mathew Alex, especially that foot-tapping beat), the articulate voice-overs, the insertion of animated sequences to help elaborate certain points, the changing aspect ratio, and the way the makers subtly mock the "thank you" card at the very beginning. This is one of the finest black comedies I've seen in recent times, and you'll connect to its proceedings better if you're an unprejudiced viewer that doesn't seek message-driven, always-positive cinema.

Mukundan unni associates, now this is a movie that will standout.. it's so dark or one can say dark comedy, haven't seen any movie like this in malayalam.. a movie that comes to my mind is the movie parasite, that one was on another level of dark theme... Both are not comparable ! But that's the only movie that came to my mind after watching mukundan unni associates. Some aspects of the movie felt creepy real and others felt like too fictional. Apart from the theme excellent performance from vineeth sreenivasan, movie has perfect casting, script, etc.. It's was worth the watch, you can decide for yourself go ahead and watch it !

Rating - A solid 8.7/10

I have to say that this movie is underrated in a sense that it hasn't created much of a buzz. Mukundan Unni Associates (2022) has been perfectly casted and the acting from every single one of them is just perfect. I like how the maker's have tried something new by introducing a character like Adv. Mukandan Unni. The greedy, super smart and apathetic Mukundan Unni is so well presented by Vineeth Sreenivasan.

Overall - Yes, the movie feels like Mukundan Unni is very lucky and that he gets away with whatever he does. But the the dark comedy, the character depth, the acting and everything combined with a solid script and direction makes up for that. This is a great movie and is easily one of the best of 2022.

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