Congress leader Unnithan dons grease paint again

Tellichery (Kerala), Sep 13 (IANS) Congress leader Raj Mohan Unnithan, who is much in demand for his rhetorical skills, has donned the grease paint again for his eighth film and says it will get him noticed as an actor as well as a politician.

Unnithan is playing a central character in 'Kausthabham', which is being shot near this city in Kannur district. The film lays emphasis on music and the story revolves around a temple.

'This is a role I place a lot of hopes on and the response I have got from people who turned up to see the shooting has been great. They have high hopes from me in the political arena too,' said a pleased Unnithan.

He said he plays the role of a temple tantri with supernatural powers.

'This is a totally different role from my previous seven films where it was more of dialogue delivery. It is a tough role for me because a lot of emotions have to be displayed. I am enjoying it hugely,' Unnithan told IANS in between shots.

His last film 'Jubilee', in which he had a small role, was released in January.

Unnithan shot to fame when veteran Congress leader K. Karunakaran way back in 2003 started defying the party national leadership. It was Unnithan, who through his excellent presentation skills, gave a lot of media mileage to Karunakaran.

But in May 2004, when a much hoped for Lok Sabha seat did not come Unnithan's way, he parted ways with Karunakaran. In fact he became one of the biggest critics of Karunakaran and his son K. Muraleedharan. Soon after, he was suspended from the Congress party.

On account of his crisp dialogue delivery, he was cast in the film 'Tiger' co-starring superstar Suresh Gopi. Soon he got a stream of films and met with reasonable success.

He was subsequently re-admitted to the party. Soon he was asked to contest against Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the Kerala home minister, in the May 2006 assembly polls, but lost.

Unnithan's stock increased after his brief sojourn in the film industry and he is now much sought after for making political speeches across the state as a Congress leader.

'This is my second film this year and I am happy to be back wearing the grease paint.'

The film, being directed by Sajeev K., who worked as an assistant to award winning director Jayraj, also stars Sreenivasan, Jagadish, Saikumar, Indrans, Karthika, Sukumari and Mini Arun.