Shefeekkinte Santosham, Meppadiyan aren't intended as political statements: Unni Mukundan

Unni Mukundan is gearing up for the release of his next film, Shefeekkinte Santosham. The actor will essay the role of the titular character in the drama, directed by Anup Pandalam. Unni’s first big screen release this year came in the form of Meppadiyan, a film which found itself in murky waters when there were allegations that it glorified right wing politics and for inclusion of certain religious symbolism. Shefeekkinte Santosham features the actor portraying the titular character, and Unni recently opened up about whether he thought people might politicise his character in the upcoming film as well.

In conversation with Ginger Media Entertainments, Unni said that he had never intended to make any political statements with any of his films. Through the course of his career, he has played characters coming from different religious backgrounds and will continue to do so as well.

Also addressing the Meppadiyan controversy, Unni said that both the former and Shefeekkinte Santosham were films written and conceived by the directors, Vishnu Mohan and Anup. As a performer, Unni had done a lot of characters whom he was not fond of, belonging to different religions and it would not be fair to blame him for trying to do different roles.

Meppadiyan’s inclusion of the debated upon elements had been done because they were relevant to the story, and it was in no way intended to be a political statement, the actor said. Anup added that Unni had worked very hard to make sure that his character in Shefeekkinte Santosham was as authentic as possible.

Calling the discussions around such criticisms ‘forced’, Unni said it was akin to restricting artistic freedom. “If I wanted to make a political statement, I do not have to spend Rs 5 to 6 crore on a film, I can just as easily put out a statement on social media”, Unni said.

Shefeekkinte Santosham will be released in theatres on November 25.