'Divya Unni was not the actress who refused to act opposite Kalabhavan Mani'; Vinayan reveals

Renowned actress Divya Unni made her debut in Malayalam cinema through director Vinayan’s film Kalyana Sougandhikam. The movie had Dileep in the lead role, along with Kalabhavan Mani, Jagathy Sreekumar, Captain Raju, Jagadish, Chippy, and KPAC Lalitha in important roles. Released in October 1996, the film has recently completed 29 years. Director Vinayan had recently shared a note about this on social media, and now his reply to a fan’s comment under that post has become the subject of discussion.

A fan asked whether Vinayan’s earlier remark about “an actress refusing to act opposite Kalabhavan Mani” was about Kalyana Sougandhikam. Vinayan clarified that it was not about this film, but about his later movie Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njaanum, where a well-known actress had made such a statement.

He said, “I have never revealed that actress’s name. In Kalyana Sougandhikam, when an assistant director mentioned a song sequence with a romantic scene opposite Mani, Divya jokingly said, ‘Not with Manichettan, my hero is Dileepettan.’ Mani himself later spoke about this in an interview in a humorous way, and it was true. I only saw it as the innocent excitement of a 14-year-old newcomer who dreamed of acting as Dileep’s heroine. When I explained the scene to her gently, Divya agreed to do it.

However, over the years, people mixed up Mani’s lighthearted comment about Kalyana Sougandhikam with my experience during Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njaanum while searching for a heroine. That confusion unfairly placed the blame on Divya. The actress who refused to act in Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njaanum was never Divya Unni. I never even asked Divya to act in that film. I had hinted about the incident of an actress refusing to act opposite Mani in my movie Chalakkudikkaran Changathi. The truth is very different from what many still believe,” Vinayan clarified.

Divya Unni has long been criticised by some for allegedly refusing to act alongside Kalabhavan Mani. Both the romantic song sequence in Kalyana Sougandhikam and the lead role in Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njaanum have been at the centre of such debates on social media. Vinayan’s clarification now puts those rumours to rest.