KOCHI: Hours after he was booked for the alleged assault of a former associate, Malayalam actor Unni Mukundan on Tuesday denied the “absolutely false and untrue” allegations.
The Infopark police registered the case against Unni on the complaint of Vipin Kumar, a Changanassery native who claimed to be the actor’s former manager. Vipin alleged that Unni verbally abused and assaulted him for praising Narivetta, starring Tovino Thomas, on social media.
Unni, who moved an anticipatory bail plea in the Ernakulam district court, termed the allegations an attempt to “threaten and harass him for undue gain and benefits”.
Vipin told reporters that after seeing his post, Unni contacted him and said he was dismissing him as his manager. He said the actor asked him to come to the parking area of an apartment complex in Kakkanad where he verbally abused and physically assaulted him.
Dismissing the entire narrative by Vipin as baseless, the Marco actor said, “I have always maintained a professional relationship with my colleagues, but he (Vipin) is extremely poisonous. Every word he said is a complete lie.” Unni accused Vipin of spreading malicious rumours about him.
“At one point, he even contacted a female actor and urged her to marry me, which triggered a major confrontation between us. That was when I decided to meet him in person,” he said.
“There was no physical attack at any point as he claims. The allegations are absolutely false and untrue. The area where the incident allegedly occurred is fully covered by CCTV cameras,” he said. Unni said he had never appointed Vipin as his manager.
Vipin was never appointed manager: Unni Mukundan
“Vipin first approached me in 2018 when I was planning to produce my first film under my own banner, but he was never formally appointed as my personal manager,” he said.
Infopark SHO Sajeev Kumar said, “As per the complaint, the alleged assault took place in the parking area of a DLF apartment complex in Kakkanad.”
“We have registered a case against the actor under various sections, including voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restraint, criminal intimidation, and obscene acts. Further procedures, including summoning the actor for a statement will follow as the investigation progresses,” Sajeev said.
Interacting with reporters, Vipin claimed Unni had been frustrated for a long time.
“After his last hit Marco, he has not received any good offers. A movie he planned to direct suffered a setback after Gokulam Movies withdrew from production. Even those once close to him have now distanced themselves,” Vipin claimed.
In his anticipatory bail plea, Unni claimed the complaint against him was part of a deliberate conspiracy and entirely baseless. The Film Employees Federation of Kerala is reviewing the complaint filed by Vipin.