Did you have to consciously make changes to tackle Vineeth’s image of mostly playing the good guy?
We had the confidence that he could pull off a darker character. In terms of risk, we have tried to keep the film’s budget small. But for the audience, we made sure we didn’t cast Vineeth’s friends in other roles in the film. That I feel has helped in separating his earlier screen image from the role he’s playing in Mukundan Unni. It’s like we’ve taken him out of the world you usually see him in.
Becoming a filmmaker has meant that you’ve taken a long break from your editing career. How does that affect your regular, everyday life?
It can put a lot of strain on you, both in terms of one’s personal life and in terms of finances. Even my co-writer Vimal (Gopalakrishnan) had to go through a lot of strains as we tried to focus all our attention on to this project.
I understand, given how editing is generally considered among the most stable professions within the film business…
Yes! After Godha (2017), I got around 11 film offers across languages. It’s like I stopped taking up editing work when my career was at its peak. But I have no regrets because if I did those movies, I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate so much on this script. Eventually I did come to this field to become a director, so I cannot make that a side business. Also while editing, I cannot treat that as a side hustle either because it is a director’s dream. Even while editing, I want to completely get involved in the process as I love editing the most. I cannot multi-task. If I multi-task, it will definitely reflect on my work.
