Unni Mukundan booked for allegedly assaulting manager, latter says 'frustrated' Malayalam actor slapped him for praising Tovino Thomas' Narivetta

Noted Malayalam actor Unni Mukundan has been booked for allegedly assaulting his professional manager, Kochi police said on Tuesday. In his complaint, Mukundan's professional manager, Vipin Kumar, alleged that the actor slapped him in the face for praising Tovino Thomas' recently released film Narivetta. The incident occurred in the basement parking area of an apartment complex in Kakkanad on Monday. Kumar also alleged that Mukundan used abusive language and threatened to kill him.

While speaking to the media, Vipin Kumar claimed that Mukundan is frustrated after not getting good films after his 2024 action thriller Marco, that became a blockbuster and earned Rs 110 crore against its budget of Rs 30 crore. As per an India Today report, he said, "I am a promotion consultant and I do PR for movies and many actors. I did promotions for Tovino Thomas's Narivetta. I had posted on social media praising the film which Unni didn’t like. He called me that night asking me to stop working for him as his manager. I said okay to it. I am not a paid manager. I am a PR consultant. I have worked for many films. He already knew that."

Vipin further added, "I came to the parking area of the building where I stayed as he asked me to. He assaulted me after abusing me. I have been working with him for the last six years. He was frustrated recently as he didn’t get good films after Marco. His film Get Set Baby failed at the box office. He is not getting films after that. He was planning to direct a movie which was to be produced by Gokulam movies. They withdrew from the project. He is now showing the frustration on people around him."

Mukundan has been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 296(b) (obscene acts and songs), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 324(4), and 324(5) (both dealing with mischief), Kochi police said. They added that an FIR has been registered and an investigation is underway. The actor has not yet responded to the allegations.

READ | Before Deepika Padukone left Sandeep Reddy Vanga, Prabhas' Spirit; she walked out of this film, was called 'unpofessional', returned only after...