Actor and filmmaker Major Ravi has offered his own account of a long-rumoured clash with actor Unni Mukundan, framing it as a fleeting moment of friction rather than a lasting feud. Speaking about an incident that has circulated in Kerala film circles for years, Ravi said the trouble began with an argument on a particular day, and that Unni Mukundan came over after he made a phone call. According to Ravi, the younger actor struck him during that encounter - and, in his telling, the news of the blow was received with delight by people he regards as his enemies.
The remarks add a personal chapter to one of the more persistent stories in Malayalam cinema's gossip ecosystem. Major Ravi, a former army officer turned director and actor, has worked across several high-profile projects and is known for speaking bluntly in interviews. Unni Mukundan, for his part, has grown into one of the busiest leading men in the industry over the past decade. Public memory of any confrontation between the two has largely rested on hearsay, which is why Ravi's decision to address it directly carries weight for fans who have followed the speculation.
The phrase Ravi used - describing the quarrel as something that happened "that day" - suggests he views the episode as a discrete event, not an ongoing dispute. Equally notable is his claim that a phone call from him prompted Unni Mukundan to show up. In Ravi's version, the younger actor's arrival was followed by a physical blow, a detail that turns a routine disagreement into something more serious. The veteran filmmaker appears to have chosen the moment deliberately, revisiting the episode on his own terms rather than letting rumour shape the record.
His final clause is the one likely to travel fastest across social media: that those he counts as adversaries were pleased when they heard he had been hit. It is a line steeped in the personalised rivalries that occasionally shadow Malayalam cinema, where professional competition and personal animosity can be hard to separate. Ravi's framing casts the strike less as an isolated act than as ammunition handed to critics who, in his view, were waiting for any sign of humiliation.
Neither actor has issued a formal, detailed statement setting out what happened and why, at least nothing in the public domain that settles the question. Ravi's remarks are best treated as one side of the story. Unni Mukundan has not, in the material available, offered a matching public response, leaving audiences to weigh the elder filmmaker's account against the versions that have floated around for years. For an industry that thrives on oral history, that gap between tellings is often what keeps such stories alive.
There is also a professional dimension worth noting. Malayalam cinema runs on tight networks of directors, producers and stars, and public spats can affect casting conversations and on-set dynamics even when the principals insist there is no bad blood. Major Ravi has spent years moving between direction, acting and public commentary, and his willingness to reopen a sensitive episode may serve as much to reclaim a narrative as to settle a score. Unni Mukundan, meanwhile, has every incentive to keep his focus on his slate of projects rather than a dispute from the past.
For the audience, the takeaway is less a verdict than a reminder of how film-world friction gets remembered. A quarrel, a phone call, a blow, and the satisfaction of detractors - Ravi has condensed it into a single, carefully worded recollection. Whether it becomes the accepted version depends on how Unni Mukundan and others choose to respond, and on whether the industry decides this matter deserves more than a passing round of chatter. Until then, the episode remains what it has long been: an anecdote with sharp edges, now given fresh voice by one of its central figures.
Source: Filmibeat Malayalam