It's double celebration for Meppadiyan director as he wins national award amid wedding bells

Vishnu Mohan, who recently won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debutant director at the 69^th National Film Awards, is ecstatic about the recognition he received for his work in 'Meppadiyan.' For the director who is getting married on September 3, this is a double celebration.

“We really wanted 'Meppadiyan' to be considered for the awards. This was Unni Mukundan’s debut production venture. Unni and others have put so much hard work into this film. We were hopeful the film would get a mention in the regional cinema category. Now, we are happy I got the recognition for Best Debutant Director. We had to really struggle to make this film within the constraints of the pandemic. To get an award for your first film brings great joy. This was also the first film in which Unni played an ordinary villager and not an action hero. The film got noticed because Unni was able to convince everyone with his role,” he said.

The young director has dedicated the award to the team of 'Meppadiyan', especially Unni. “I am someone who has never worked as an assistant director. I am grateful to Unni for trusting someone like me. I had a huge responsibility since Unni set aside three years for 'Meppadiyan'. The film didn't do well in theatres, but got good response once it started streaming on OTT. Many people liked the Hindi version of the film too,” he said.

Vishnu says it was destiny that brought him and Unni together. “I wanted to give Unni a character he had never done before. Unni put up a very good performance, even better than what I had expected. 'Meppadiyan' won as many as 17 awards including international festival awards. This is the 18th award, a reward for our efforts,” said Vishnu Mohan.

Vishnu, who is engaged to BJP leader A N Radhakrishnan's daughter Abhirami, also spoke about his marriage. “I'm also getting married on September 3. So many good things are happening at the moment. All my hard work is finally getting paid off. This award will bolster my efforts to do more good films,” says Vishnu who also wrote the story and screenplay of the film.