On Thursday, January 26, amidst a flurry of Republic Day wishes, a voice clipping of a telephone conversation was also widely circulated in Malayali WhatsApp groups. The clip was that of a call recording between Malayalam actor Unni Mukundan and a YouTuber, in which the former could be heard mouthing expletives at the latter for posting a video allegedly criticising his latest film ‘Malikappuram’ and for “personally attacking” the actor.
In the audio clipping that is going viral, Unni Mukundan questions the YouTuber’s opinion that the actor used religious faith to market his film Malikapuram. The conversation then escalates to a point where Unni uses expletives, sounding restless and underlining that he also knows how to respond in a 'manly' way. The YouTuber, who runs a channel called “Secret Agent”, then counters it by saying that the common audience has the right to criticise films. Unni alleges that the review was personal, commenting on the way he was brought up and that many content creators like him conjure videos for views and monetary benefits. He then asks for the reviewer's location, to have a one-on-one with him. Unni also says that he is okay if the very same conversation is uploaded because he is confident that it will not affect him.
Malikappuram, directed by Vishnu Sasi Kumar and starring Unni Mukundan, is a movie revolving around an eight-year-old girl who wants to visit the famed Sabarimala temple in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district. Ever since the release of the film on December 30, 2022, the movie has received both support and criticism. The film was promoted heavily by Right Wing groups and was severely criticised and labelled as an attempt to promote the Hindutva agenda in Kerala, by the Left groups.
Meanwhile, Unni Mukundan on Wednesday, put out a Facebook post justifying the call recording. “I wouldn’t say I did anything wrong. But 15 minutes after the particular conversation took place, I called the YouTuber once again and apologised to him. He also apologised to me,” wrote Unni. He went on to add that his outburst was due to the “personal remarks made by the YouTuber” and not because of criticism against the movie.