Mukundan Unni Associates review: A wildly humorous and distressingly serious film with Vineeth at his best

Mukundan Unni Associates, co-written by editor Abhinav Sunder Nayak  — who worked on films like Vaayai Moodi Pesavum, You Too Brutus, Uriyadi, and Aanandam — marks his debut as a director.

We don’t see many dark comedies in Malayalam. Here is a much-awaited one.

It starts like a comedy movie and slowly shifts its path to a psychopath film. Well, that was unexpected!

Indeed, it is a lighter comical version of Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler.  However, it never loses what made the first half so entertaining.

Mukundan Unni’s mind-voice one-liners are the most hilarious part of the flick.

Vineeth as Unni is compelling

Vineeth Sreenivasan plays Mukundan Unni, a sociopath obsessed with making money and moving to the top. His perseverance and crude remarks to pretty much everyone he meets make for laugh-out-loud moments.

Unni doesn’t mince words. He talks to anyone to advance his goals, and he has a sly grin that never fails to draw attention.

We cannot predict when he will say or do anything amusing, or smack someone over the head.

All this results in a movie that is wildly humorous and yet distressingly serious and upsetting.

Suraj Venjaramoodu has always been first-class in short roles. Here, he is terrific throughout, especially in the scene where he blows his top.

He displays a wide range of emotions in what is unquestionably his best role and performance to date. It’s difficult for me to think of any actor who could have brought the role the seriocomic heights.

Sudhi Koppa plays a man with small dreams and much lesser targets than Mukundan Unni. It drives the story and the drama.

I liked the way the relationship between Sudhi Koppa and Vineeth Sreenivasan is portrayed.

Perfect blend of comedy and thrills

The script, written by Vimal Gopalakrishnan and Nayak, interweaves its small group of characters into a simple comedy thriller. It combines humour and thrills and is genuinely a good debut film for Nayak.

The writing is very good. It juggles many layers without making the movie crowded or forced.

Contrary to other movies, I did not find comedy and drama to be an awkward combination. In reality, the humour in this flick serves to highlight how ludicrous everything is, on the line of Nelson’s Doctor.

#MukundanUnniAssociates on NOVEMBER 11 pic.twitter.com/Wv4GYqCzoA

— Abhinav Sunder Nayak (@abhinavsnayak) October 25, 2022

Sachin Warrier’s cinematography is beautiful, with a clear sense of style and atmosphere. Sibi Mathew Alex’s music score is quite lovely.

The movie is not perfect. It slows down in some parts. It is a bit long and gets silly, too. However, despite the flaws, it is largely entertaining.

In all, Mukundan Unni Associates is a well-executed film. It hits its mark!

Vineeth Sreenivasan registers another triumph, while director Abhinav Sunder Nayak impresses with his talent. They should seriously consider doing a sequel!