Unni Mukundan grew up collecting He-Man action figures. He still does. On Thursday, he announced that he has lent his voice to He-Man in the official Malayalam dub of Masters of the Universe — the Sony Pictures and MGM live-action fantasy film releasing June 5. He becomes the first Malayalam actor to collaborate with both studios for a dubbing role of this scale.
The announcement came via an emotional post on his social media, written in his own voice and running considerably longer than a standard promotional note. “I am the voice of He-Man… Hm, I am He-Man,” he signed off.
What the Dubbing Studio Felt Like
Unni described the recording session with a specific detail that landed: when he watched portions of the film during dubbing, he said his eyes filled up. “I forgot I was an actor standing in a studio. I became that little boy again, lost in He-Man’s magical world.” The line he had repeated as a child — “By the Power of Grayskull… I Have The Power!” — rendered in Malayalam — was the moment he described as beyond words.
For anyone who grew up in Kerala in the 1990s watching He-Man dubbed into Malayalam on television, that line in Unni Mukundan’s voice will carry a particular charge in the theatre.
He-Man, for the Uninitiated
He-Man originated as a Mattel toy line before becoming a globally beloved animated series through Masters of the Universe. Prince Adam of Eternia raises the Sword of Power, speaks the incantation, and transforms into the indestructible He-Man — tasked with protecting Castle Grayskull and the universe from the villain Skeletor. The character’s combination of physical power and moral clarity made him a defining figure of 1980s and 1990s childhood across the world.
The live-action film from Sony Pictures and MGM arrives June 5. Unni Mukundan’s involvement makes the Malayalam version something more than a dubbed release — it makes it a homecoming of sorts, voiced by someone for whom He-Man was never just a cartoon character.
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