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B Unnikrishnan | |
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| Born | Unnikrishnan Bhaskaran 14 August 1970 Pathanamthitta, Kerala, India |
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| Years active | 1999 – present |
Unnikrishnan B (born 14 August 1970) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, distributor and exhibitor who works in the Malayalam film industry.
Unnikrishnan. B. was born on 14 August 1970 in Pathanamthitta district in Kerala to Bhaskaran Pillai and Ponnamma Bhaskaran Pillai. [1] He married to Rajeswari Menon, a professor. [2]
He began his film career in 1999 by writing the screenplay of Jalamarmaram directed by T. K. Rajeev Kumar, which won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Screenplay that year. The film dealt with the politics of water and environmentalism. In 2000, his screenplay Cover Story directed by G. S. Vijayan was released. It was a box office failure. [3] He was the screenwriter of the thriller Black and White, a television serial telecast in Asianet in 2004, which won two Kerala State Television Awards. [4] [5] The serial was directed by Viji Thampi. [6] in 2004, he wrote and directed a telefilm titled Antharangal, which won the Kerala state television award for the best telefilm. In 2005, he wrote, produced and directed a telefilm, Annum Mazhayayirunnu which was aired by Amrita TV. The Hindu wrote "The suspense that is maintained throughout the short movie, despite it being set in a domestic, sylvan setting, goes to the credit of the carefully crafted script". [4] The telefilm won six Kerala State Television Awards, including Best Telefilm and Best screenplay for Unnikrishnan. [7]
He scripted Shaji Kailas-directorial action film Shivam in 2002 and the thriller film The Tiger in 2005, [8] the latter starring Suresh Gopi was successful. [9] He made his feature film directorial debut in 2006 with the action film Smart City . His second directorial Madampi starring Mohanlal was a blockbuster . Unlike his previous films, Madampi was a family drama that told the story of a money lender in a village. [10] In 2009, he scripted and directed the action police story I. G. – Inspector General starring Suresh Gopi. The film talked issues like terrorism and communal politics. [11] In the same year, he wrote and directed the segment Aviramam in the anthology film Kerala Cafe . [12] In 2010, he scripted and directed the political satire Pramani starring Mammootty as a corrupt panchayat president, [13] which was a box office failure. [14]
His directorial crime thriller Grandmaster released in 2012 was written by himself starring Mohanlal as a loner cop who is challenged to investigate a crime. Not only that it was a financial success, but it showed Mohanlal in a totally different look and style. [15] Grandmaster was the first Malayalam film produced by UTV and it is also the first Malayalam film to be released in Netflix, apart from its theatrical release. [16] It was followed by I Love Me , a romantic thriller written by Sethu, that revolves around a group of youngsters. [17] In 2015, he wrote and directed the heist film Mr. Fraud , starring Mohanlal, which was a commercial failure. [18]
Unnikrishnan forayed into production and distribution with his company, RD Illuminations, which acquired and released the Malayalam dubbed versions of Sarrainodu (2016), Fidaa (2017), DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham (2017), and Bhaagamathie (2018). [19] He collaborated with Mohanlal, in 2017, for the crime thriller, Villain . With the film, he introduced Vishal into Malayalam cinema. It was also the first Indian film to be completely shot in 8K resolution. [20] After that, he co-produced and distributed the action thriller, Swathandriam Ardharathriyil (2018). It was produced by B. C. Joshy, Lijo Jose Pellissery, and Chemban Vinod Jose. It was a huge success at the box-office. [21] In 2019, he wrote and directed the first Malayalam film produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel .It was a commercial success. In 2022. he collaborated with Mohanlal, for the fifth time, with Neyyattinkara Gopante Aaraattu written by Udaykrishna. However, it was critically panned by both the critics and audience, alike and box-office failure. In 2023, he collaborated with Mammootty, for a second time with Christopher written by Udaykrishna, it received mixed to positive reviews from critics and audiences.
He is the general secretary of Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) since 2008, he was re-elected to the position three times—2010, 2013 and 2017. [22] [23] [24] In 2014, he was elected as the general secretary of All India Film Employees Confederation (AIFEC). [25] He is a member in the advisory committee of Cine Workers' Welfare Board and director of Saamskaarika Kshemanidhi in Kerala. In 2016, he opened the multi-cuisine restaurant named Grandmaster's Kitchen in Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram, the restaurant was named after his film Grandmaster . [26] He owns the film distribution company RD Illuminations, that debuted in 2016 by releasing Yodhavu in Kerala. He was the managing director of the film post-production studio Vismayas Max and also the multiplex Aries Plex SL Cinemas, a Double-4K 64-channel Dolby Atmos theatre in Thiruvananthapuram. [27] It is the first theatre with Double-4K facility in South India. [28]
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(September 2022) |
| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | |||
| 1999 | Jalamarmaram | Yes | Director: T. K. Rajeev Kumar | |
| 2000 | Cover Story | Yes | Director: G. S. Vijayan | |
| 2002 | Shivam | Yes | Director: Shaji Kailas | |
| 2005 | The Tiger | Yes | Director: Shaji Kailas | |
| 2006 | Smart City | Yes | Yes | |
| 2008 | Madampi | Yes | Yes | |
| 2009 | I. G. – Inspector General | Yes | Yes | |
| Aviramam | Yes | Yes | Segment from Kerala Cafe | |
| 2010 | Pramani | Yes | Yes | |
| The Thriller | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2012 | Grandmaster | Yes | Yes | |
| I Love Me | Yes | Writer: Sethu | ||
| 2014 | Mr. Fraud | Yes | Yes | |
| 2017 | Villain | Yes | Yes | |
| 2019 | Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel | Yes | Yes | |
| 2022 | Aaraattu | Yes | Writer: Udaykrishna | |
| 2023 | Christopher | Yes | Writer: Udaykrishna | |
| Year | Title | Credit | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Black and White | Writer | Asianet | Serial; director: Viji Thampi |
| 2005 | Annu Mazhayayirunnu | Director Writer Producer | Amrita TV | Telefilm |
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Bhramaram (transl. Beetle) is a 2009 Indian Malayalam-language road suspense thriller film, written and directed by Blessy, starring Mohanlal, Bhumika Chawla, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Suresh Menon and Murali Gopy. The film was released on 25 June 2009. It was an average grosser at the box office.
Janakan (transl. Father) is a 2010 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film directed by N. R. Sanjeev and written by S. N. Swami, starring Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi. The music was composed by M. Jayachandran. It was released on 8 April 2010 in Kerala and was distributed by Maxlab Entertainments. Janakan is credited as the 200th film appearance of Suresh Gopi. The film won the Kerala state Film Award for Best playback singer - Female for Rajalakshmy for the song "Olichirunne".
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Oru Naal Varum is a 2010 Indian Malayalam-language satirical film directed by T. K. Rajeev Kumar, written by Sreenivasan, and produced by Maniyanpilla Raju. It stars Mohanlal and Sameera Reddy in her Malayalam debut, with Sreenivasan, Devayani, Nazriya Nazim, and Esther Anil in supporting roles. The film's soundtrack was composed by M. G. Sreekumar. Oru Naal Varum was released on 9 July 2010. The plot deals with corruption in India.
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Grandmaster is a 2012 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film written and directed by B. Unnikrishnan and produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur under the production company UTV Motion Pictures. The film stars Mohanlal as IG Chandrasekhar, a senior IPS officer who begins investigating a series of murders after receiving an anonymous note. The supporting characters are played by Priyamani, Narain, Anoop Menon, Babu Antony, Jagathy Sreekumar, and Arjun Nandhakumar.
Mr. Fraud is a 2014 Indian heist action thriller film written and directed by B. Unnikrishnan. The film stars an ensemble cast of Mohanlal, Dev Gill, Vijay Babu, Miya, Manjari Phadnis, Siddique, Vijayakumar, Pallavi Purohit, Rahul Madhav, Sai Kumar, Suresh Krishna, Devan and Kalasala Babu. The film was produced by A. V. Anoop under the banner A. V. A Productions. The story is about a conman whose task is to plunder the treasure from a royal household.
Geethaanjali is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language horror film directed by Priyadarshan and written by Abhilash Nair, with dialogue by Dennis Joseph. Though promoted as spin-off of the 1993 film Manichitrathazhu, it was an adaptation of the 2007 Thai film Alone which was loosely based on the novel Elephants Can Remember. Mohanlal reprises his role from Manichitrathazhu and Suresh Gopi appears in a cameo role. It also features Keerthy Suresh, Nishan, Siddique, Madhu, Swapna Menon, Innocent, and K. B. Ganesh Kumar. In the film, psychologist Dr. Sunny Joseph arrives at a mansion to treat Anjali, who is haunted by her deceased twin sister Geetha, and investigates the paranormal activities. It marked the Malayalam and film debut of Keerthy Suresh.
Villain is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language neo-noir psychological action thriller film written and directed by B. Unnikrishnan and produced by Rockline Venkatesh. It stars an ensemble cast including Mohanlal, Vishal, Meka Srikanth, Raashi Khanna, Hansika Motwani, Manju Warrier, Siddique, Chemban Vinod Jose, Renji Panicker, Saikumar and Aju Varghese. Manoj Paramahamsa were the cinematographer. The songs were written by 4 Musics and the film score was composed by Sushin Shyam.
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