Mammootty - Actor Of Many Parts

     The story of Mammootty's journey through cinema is the story of a man who catapulted himself from a "face in the crowd" to the superstar's throne.
     At different stages of his glittering career of over 4 decades and working with five generations of filmmakers and actors, Mammootty has been the lover boy, the quintessential husband, village idiot, the angry young man, the average Joe railing against the establishment, the super slueth or the upright bureaucrat.
     He has also been the director's choice for period cinema (from 'Padayottam' and 'Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha' to 'Pazhassi raja') or when great literary works were given a screen life ('Mathilugal' baed on Vaikkom muhammed Basheer and directed by Adoor gopalakrishnan or 'Vidheyan' adapted from Zacharia's novella 'Bhaskara Patellarum Ente Jeevathavum').
     Mammooty, along with Mohanlal, is among the few Malayalam superstars with a fan base in other film industries of the south, especially Kollywood.
     Having starred in lead role in over 365 films, Mammootty stands almost shoulder to shoulder to yesteryear evergreen Hero Prem Nazir. And much like Prem nazir, Mammootty has never played the anti-hero, barring a couple of films early in his career such as 'Vilkanundu Swapnangal' and 'Mela' in 1980.
     When the landmark film 'Anubhavangal palichakal' directed by KS Sethumadhavan came out in 1971 Mammootty's bit role was just that of a face in the crowd.
     Mammootty's cap is crowded with feathers-three times National Award for best Actor ('Mathilugal' and 'Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha' in 1989, 'Vidheyan' and 'Ponthan Mada' in 1983 and 'Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar' in 1999). Add to this seven Kerela State Awards and two dozen-odd Filmfare Awards and Film Critics' Award. The Padmashri was awarded in 1988 making him the first Malayali actor to earn this honour. The celebrated actor has shared screen-space with at least five generations of actors-Prem Nazir in the 1970s, Sukumaran and Madhu in 1980s, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Mukesh and Srinivasan in 1990s and youngsters Prithviraj and Jayasurya since 2000. In Lal Jose's 'Emmanuel' he even teamed up with new age Hero Fahad Fazil, a unique experience as Fahad would say of acting alongside "his Father's (filmmaker Fazil) best and and his best friend's (Mammootty's son Dulquer Salman) father".
     It was in 1980s through the films by IV Sasi and PG Viswambharan that Mammootty established himself as a mainstream Hero through films like 'Sphodanam' and 'Trishna'. It helped that mammootty's rise coincided with a period when Malayalam cinema was benefiting from the creative screenplay of its celebrated writer MT Vasudevan Nair ('Aalkkoottathil thaniye' and 'Adiyozhukkugal').
     The first time Mammootty starred as a Police officer investigating a murder-a role he would make his own for over a decade-was in KG George's taut thriller 'Yavanika'.
     He was overwhelming choice for the lead in the cinema of this period which essentially had family drama themes wovwn around the Middle Class.
     Audiences of this time loved their Mammootty. But it was not until 'Thaniyaavarthanam' and 'New Delhi' were released in 1987 that they woke up to his true potential. If 'New Delhi' (he played an avenging journalist hounded by the establishment) bestowed Megastar status on Mammootty, in the Sibi Malayil directed 'Thaniyaavarthanam' he milked the tear glands of the viewers with a sebnsitive portrayal of a man on whom the society foists the condition of mental illness and whose deliverance from persecution comes when his own mother poisons him to death.
     In 1988, Mammootty starred in K Madhu's 'Oru CBI Diary kurippu', arguably malayalam cinema's first franchise centred on an investigative officer unearthing murder mysteries
that involve corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and police officers.
    The franchise had featured blockbusters such as 'Jagratha', 'Sethurama Iyer CBI' and 'Nerariyan CBI'. Another sequel is in the works.
     Mammootty's acting style which is shorn of set mannerisms has helped him to get into the skin of charactrs he portrays. So it is the character and not Mammootty The Superstar that you identify with in films such as 'Loud Speaker' (Mike), 'Nirakkoottu' (Ravi Varma )or 'Vidheyan' (Bhaskara Patelar).
     His deep voice also took dialogue delivery to new heights. Professionalism in his work ethic and commitment to the character are also admirable.
     One thing that struck me when I interacted with him is his uncanny ability to mimic others. Hi tech savvy nature and yen for fast cars are well established in the film circuit where they adoringly call him "Mammookka". Some of my favourite mammootty movies are 'Yavanika, 'Koodevide', 'Kanamarayath', 'Mrigaya', 'Valarthu Mrigangal', 'The King', 'Ponthan Mada', 'Chronic bachelor' and 'Oru CBI Diary kurippu'.
     Mammootty would try his hand at comedy, never considered his forte, quite successfully spouting the slang of suburban Trivandrum in the blockbuster 'Rajamanikkam' which also marked the directorial debut of Anwar Rasheed. but his best comic performance came much before in the underrated 'Kanalkaattu' (1991) directed by Sathyan Anthikkad.