Exclusive | 'Prathichaya' Will Create Several Debates: B Unnikrishnan on Nivin Pauly's Next

Filmmaker B Unnikrishnan calls his latest political thriller Prathichaya (The Image) a "conversation starter" that deals with "several complexities". The glimpse of the film, starring Nivin Pauly, Ann Augustine and Sai Kumar among others, reveals just that.

At an event that saw the likes of Mohanlal, along with the star cast of the film, the makers dropped a 140-second trailer of Prathichaya, which marks Pauly’s return to the political genre after having done films such as Saghavu, Padavettu and Thuramukham. The trailer was released a few months before the Kerala state Assembly Elections, adding to the intrigue. 

It features an introduction of Pauly’s character, who appears to be a political outsider at first. We see him on the sidelines of a major upheaval when we see him stepping into a powerful post. “Am I successful?” he asks rhetorically, as he assumes this post, reiterating that this film will not be another ‘success story’ about the chosen one. We also see glimpses of a cash-rich opponent, too, played by Sharaf U Dheen, who seems to rival Pauly’s rise to power. Even the character playing a media baron resembles a real person from Kerala politics, urging you to make connections between the real and the reel.

As Pauly speaks—at what appears to be a Ted Talk-like setting—he asks if the lives of Nehru, Gandhi, AKG or EMS can be seen as success stories or "were they failures?" This adds to the Crown of Thorns myth, affecting the lives of all leaders. He looks towards the audience when he says that it is the voter who gives birth to a leader, based on “what the market demands.” 

A two-seat majority for the winning party makes the film’s plot even more interesting, given how fickle the leadership may be. Corruption, too, is addressed as a matter of fact, with a joke about Pauly’s character described as a “corruptive force”, adding to the greyness of his character. 

Unnikrishnan, who has admitted to being equally critical in his films about all the major political parties of Kerala, assures that this will be a political film with impact.

Speaking to THR India, he said, "It’s a film that is sure to create debate, arguments and discussions about the state and its politics. It cannot be looked at a regular political film. Prathichaya is written to lead to several interpretations and layers.” 

At the trailer launch, he said that he has invested for half of Prathichaya himself, stating that "this is the film that will decide if I remain active or not in the Malayalam industry.” His previous release was the Mammootty-starrer Christopher in 2023.

Prathichaya is being produced by Gokulam Gopalan, apart from Unnikrishnan. Chandru Selvaraj is the film’s DOP and Justin Varghese is handling the film’s music. Manoj is the editor. Last year, Empuraan also dealt with the topic of Kerala’s bipolar politics and went on to become the highest-grossing Malayalam film at the time of its release.

Pauly’s last film for Gokulam Gopalan, Kayamkulam Kochunni, was a blockbuster as well. He recently starred in the hit Sarvam Maya and the middling Baby Girl. The release date of Prathichaya will be announced soon.