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B. Unnikrishnan

B. Unnikrishnan

Director, writer and producer · Born August 14, 1970 (56) · Pathanamthitta, Kerala, India

B. Unnikrishnan (born Unnikrishnan Bhaskaran Pillai, 14 August 1970) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Malayalam cinema.[1] After completing his post graduation in English Literature, he took M. Phil from Mahatma Gandhi University with first rank in 1991. He started publishing his writings on literature, politics and culture during the early 1990s. He, along with V. C. Haris, edited a series of books on postmodernism which was published by DC Books. He started his career as a screenwriter in 2000 by writing Jalamarmaram which won him the Kerala State Film Award for the Best Screenplay in 2000. This was followed by Cover Story (2000) and two films directed by Shaji Kailas—Shivam (2002) and The Tiger (2005). He directed his first film, Smart City in 2006. He continued directing films such as, Madambi and Grandmaster. Unnikrishnan is involved in organisational activities in Malayalam cinema and was the General Secretary of Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) for a long time[quantify] before resigning from the federation. His resignation was rejected by the General Council of FEFKA who asked him to continue till the next election in 2013. In 2013, the newly elected General Council of FEFKA unanimously re-elected him as General Secretary. Unnikrishnan is a member of the advisory committee of Cine Workers Welfare Board and the director of Saamskaarika Khemanidhi in Kerala. In January 2014, at the National Conference of All India Film Employees Confederation (AIFEC) in Mumbai, he was unanimously elected as the General Secretary. He became the first Keralite elected to this venerable post

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
August 14, 1970 (56)
From
Pathanamthitta, Kerala, India
Works as
Director, writer and producer
Titles
4 on MovieCove · 19 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 18% in 30 days

What are B. Unnikrishnan's films like?

Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Power.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
50%
Power
20%
Survival
13%
Society
10%
Bonds
7%
Justice2 titles, browse their movies with this themePower2 titles, browse their movies with this themeTrauma2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 4 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 4

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 1 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 1

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 3

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 2 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 1

Heavy: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their heavy movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 0 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 2

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 2 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
4
Dread
3
Melancholic
3
Contemplative
1

How their films linger

Unsettling3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCathartic2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch B. Unnikrishnan's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 4 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (2).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for B. Unnikrishnan's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

19 credits, 4 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Prathichaya(2026)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • Christopher(2023)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Aaraattu (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Director

  • The Priest(2021)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Stand Up (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Producer

  • Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Director · Writer

  • Villain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director · Screenplay · Story

  • Mr. Fraud (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director · Writer

  • I Love Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Director

  • Grandmaster (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Director · Writer

  • The Thriller (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director · Writer

  • Pramani (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director · Writer

  • Kerala Cafe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director · Writer

  • IG: Inspector General (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director · Writer

  • Madambi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Director · Writer

  • Smart City (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Director · Story

  • The Tiger(2005)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Shivam (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Writer

  • Jalamarmaram (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Writer

Career shape

A full career of 19 titles from 1999 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Prathichaya (2026)

$211K worldwide

Highest rated

The Priest (2021)

Midcredits 56th

Most popular right now

Prathichaya (2026)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing14 of 19: 3 only directing, 11 with another roleWriting14 of 19: 3 only writing, 11 with another roleProducing3 of 19: 2 only producing, 1 with another role

19 titles, 11 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 11 of them.

By decade

1990s1 · crew2000s6 · crew2010s8 · crew2020s4 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.

How do B. Unnikrishnan's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 53rd percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 31st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

31stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Approval · how many liked their films

72ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Reach · how many have seen their films

64thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Midcredits score across 4 titles, by percentile

  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th1

Shape of the crowd

3 of their 4 titles are Mixed.

  • Crowd Pleaser1
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · director

Christopher (2023)

78th percentile spread · 14% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer

The Tiger (2005)

Midcredits 66th · 62% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 57/100 and the pacing 37/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does B. Unnikrishnan work with?

People who share at least 2 of B. Unnikrishnan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Saikumar shares the most, 2.

Actors

Composers and editors