Mohanlal made his acting debut in
Thiranottam (1978) but the film was never released due to censorship issues. He followed that by a role as the lead antagonist in his first release
Manjil Virinja Pookkal (1980) at the age of 20. Antagonistic parts in several movies followed before Mohanlal established himself as a lead actor playing a wide variety of character types in comedy and action films amongst others. He was labelled a superstar of Malayalam cinema in 1986 after the success of
Rajavinte Makan, in which he played an underworld don. Mohanlal became a film producer with the 1990 musical hit
His Highness Abdullah and has also acted in a number of
Tamil and
Bollywood films. Of these, his notable roles were in
Iruvar, directed by
Mani Ratnam, and
Company, directed by
Ram Gopal Varma. As well as being an actor and producer, Mohanlal also owns businesses involved in film distribution, restaurants and packaged spices.
Early years (1980–1985)
In 1980, Mohanlal was cast in the lead antagonist role in
Manjil Virinja Pookkal – the directorial debut of
Fazil – produced by
Navodaya Appachan. The movie, in which debutants
Shankar and
Poornima Jayaram played the lead roles, became a major hit and for Mohanlal, "there was no looking back".
Mohanlal's friends had sent his application in response to an advertisement by
Navodaya Studio.
He was auditioned for the role in front of a panel that included well-known directors; two of them gave him poor marks but
Fazil and Jijo Appachan liked him.
In an interview with
Reader's Digest in 2004, Mohanlal said that his looks as a young man might have fit the
villain's image.
By 1983, Mohanlal was credited in more than 25 feature films
most of which had him play negative roles.
Films like Ente Mohangal poovaniju, Iniyengilum, Visa, Attakalsham, Kaliyil Alppam Kariyam, Ente mamattikutiiyammakku, Engane Nee marakkum,Unaroo, & Sreekrishnaparunthu changed his villain image and it was through Sasikumar's "Ivide thudangunnu" he became a successful hero. Mohanlal played his first comic lead role in an
ensemble cast, as a young man in love with a girl whom he mistakenly believes to be rich, in the 1984 comedy
Poochakkoru Mookkuthi, also the debut of friend and noted film-maker
Priyadarshan .
It also marked the beginning of Mohanlal-Priyadarshan duo which later made several successful movies; they have worked together in 29 movies till 2011.
In 1985, he recorded a song for the film
Onnanam Kunnil.
Uyarangalil,
Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu,
Boeing Boeing and
Aram + Aram Kinnaram were some of his successful movies in this period.
[edit]Golden period (1986–2000)
The late 1980s and early 1990s are widely regarded as the
golden age of Malayalam cinema,
with films characterised by detailed screenplays, lucid narration and fresh ideas narrowing the gap between art and commercial films.
Mohanlal and
Mammootty (who was also an upcoming actor at the time) were very lucky to play very different roles in films "made by the great masters" like
G. Aravindan,
Hariharan,
M. T. Vasudevan Nair,
Padmarajan,
Bharathan and
Lohithadas.
Mohanlal, along with the actor and
scriptwriterSreenivasan who played his sidekick in several movies, showcased the angst of unemployed, educated Malayali youth forced to adapt to hostile environments in many realistic social
satires,
some of which were written by Sreenivasan himself.
The following year, Mohanlal starred with
Sreenivasan and
Shobana in the
Sathyan Anthikad comedy
Nadodikkattu, which became a box-office success. Mohanlal and Sreenivasan reprised their roles as the detectives
Dasan and
Vijayan respectively in the sequels,
Pattanapravesham(1988) and
Akkare Akkare Akkare(1990).
Thoovanathumbikal, directed by
Padmarajan, in which he portrayed a person torn between his twin love interests, broke many stereotypes in Indian films,
[20][24] such as the leading man falling in love with a second woman immediately after he is rejected by the first. The
romantic comedy,
Chithram, released in 1988, played for 365 days in a theatre, becoming the longest running Malayalam movie still which plays full shows daily.
Mohanlal won a
Kerala State Special Jury Award in 1988 for his acting in the movies
Padamudra,
Aryan,
Vellanakalude Nadu,
Ulsavapittennu and
Chithram.
In 1989, The combination of writer
Lohitha Das and director
Sibi Malayil is considered to have produced some of his most haunting roles, his role of Sethu Madhavan, who dreams of becoming a police officer but ends up as a criminal, in the tragedy
Kireedam, earned him a
National Film Special Jury Award.
Mohanlal later recalled that his portrayal of Sethumadhavan's mental agony, commended as a natural performance, was spontaneous and that he "did what Sethumadhavan, my character, would have done in such a situation", adding that acting was "akin to entering another person’s body."
In 1989, he acted in a movie which became a hit in the year,
Varavelpu, which tells the story of a man who earned money in overseas and came back to his native to enjoy his life with family. He bought a bus, which changed his life fully. The former
Prime Minister of India,
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, mentioned the movie as an example for ignorance by Kerala towards global economic changes during the inauguration of Global Investor Meet held at
Kochi on 18 January 2003.
In the early 1990s, Mohanlal acted in a number of notable commercial movies, such as
His Highness Abdullah,
Midhunam and
No.20 Madras Mail.
His Highness Abdullah was the first movie produced by Mohanlal, under the banner of
Pranavam Arts. His romantic comedy
Kilukkam (1991) with
Revathy is regarded as one of the most popular Malayalam films ever.
His role in
Bharatham as a
Carnatic singer who is burdened by a jealous brother, earned him the
National Award for Best Actor in 1991.
Although not trained in classical dance, he portrayed a
Bharatanatyam dancer in
Kamaladalam(1992). He took help from his choreographer and his co-actors
Vineeth and
Monisha for enacting the dance scenes.
Rajashilpi,
Sadayam,
Yoddha and
Vietnam Colony were the other successful movies of Mohanlal in the same year. The 1993 drama
Devaasuram, written by
Ranjith and directed by
I. V. Sasi, was one of Mohanlal's most successful films and is regarded as a
cult classic.
In 1994, Mohanlal starred along with
Shobana and
Suresh Gopi in
Fazil's
Manichitrathazhu in the lead role as a psychiatrist. The film was a critical and commercial success, and became one of the highest grossing Malayalam films.
Sphadikam was his major commercial success in 1995. Mohanlal won his third
Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor and fifth
Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Malayalam) for his portrayal as a young man who becomes a
thug, estranged from his father, upon failing to meet the latter's high expectations.
In 1997, he played the lead role in
Guru. In 1998, he produced and starred in
Harikrishnans alongside
Mammootty and
Juhi Chawla. The film was a commercial success but was not received well by critics.
The movie had two versions of
climaxes which were screened in different regions based on whether Mammootty or Mohanlal was more popular there.
This, however, became controversial when lawsuits were filed claiming that prints exhibited in
Hindu-dominated areas showed Mohanlal marrying the heroine, whereas the ones in
Muslim-dominated areas showed Mammootty marrying her.
[edit]Later years (2000–2009)
Many movies made in this period built on Mohanlal's image as an invincible, larger-than-life hero. In 2000, Mohanlal starred in
Narasimham playing a rogue with a good heart.
It became one of the highest grossing movies in the history of
Malayalam cinema.
In the next two years, Mohanlal was typecasted in similar larger-than-life
action hero roles in movies like
Ravanaprabhu,
Praja,
Onnaman,
Thandavam and
Chathurangam. These movies were widely criticised for their repetitive plots, lewd dialogues, punch lines and male chauvinistic outlook.
"The Narasimham hangover is terrifically strong and it has, at least for the moment, killed the prospects of good films. I don't see any other reason for the failure of well made female-oriented films like
Mazha and
Madhuranombarakkattu," wrote
The New Indian Express.
The director Priyadarshan commented, "Mohanlal is the complete actor who can excel in both action and comedy. But it is a pity that the actor fell into an image trap after "Narasimham", when he became the one-man entertainer who could dance, fight, and sing!
Mohanlal has defended the poor performance of his movies saying that a "movie is a joint effort" where the actor "is just a vehicle to convey what comes as a thought to the writer" and the number of "great story tellers.. have dwindled" in Malayalam cinema.
In 2002, Mohanlal played the role of Sreenivasan IPS, a
Mumbai police officer,
in his first
Bollywood movie,
Company, which introduced him to the
Hindi-speaking audience in India and for which he won the
IIFA Star Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor.
The movie dealt with the real life story of two underworld dons who ruled Mumbai played by
Ajay Devgn and
Vivek Oberoi. Mohanlal's performance was well-received.
The Hindu noted that the actor is "at his natural best" and "does not look stifled or anxious as other South Indian stars do when they appear in a Hindi movie for the first time".
The following year, Mohanlal, trying to change his action hero image,
returned to
humour roles with
Kilichundan Mampazham,
Balettan,
Hariharan Pillai Happy Aanu and
Mr. Brahmachari.
Kilichundan Mampazham, promoted as a comeback vehicle for the actor, received good reviews and box-office collection.
Balettan, directed by
V. M. Vinu, was an "average story" which had "nothing new to offer",
but was a commercial success.
Mohanlal plays the role of Athanipparambil Balachandran, a bank employee always willing to lend a helping hand, who is forced to hide many secrets after his father's death leading to his family's mistrust.
In 2004,
Natturajavu and
Mambazhakkalam were his notable commercial successes.
Still fighting the larger-than-life image, Mohanlal appeared in the 2005
black comedy Udayananu Tharam as an aspiring film director. Well-received by the audience and the critics, the movie did well even in places where Malayalam films do not run in regular shows like
Vadodara,
Rajkot,
Pune and
Ahmedabad.
In the same year, he appeared in director
Blessy's second film
Thanmathra, a film that tells the story of an individual suffering from
Alzheimer's disease. The film received positive reviews and Mohanlal's performance was praised.
Mohanlal won his fifth
Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor and seventh
Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Malayalam) for his performance in a difficult role; his character does not speak in the second-half of the movie.
An "aesthetically shot" scene in which the husband, a dark shot of Mohanlal in nude, is distracted by a lizard on the wall while having sex with his wife was deleted after it became controversial in the conservative Kerala society.
In 2006, he worked with the director
Sathyan Anthikkad, after nearly a decade, in the movie
Rasathanthram. Although a commercial success,
the movie received mixed reviews.
Rediff.com enjoyed the movie, though it used "different elements that are tried and tested over the ages" and commented that "Mohanlal, though repeating himself for the umpteenth time, pleases."
Mohanlal also acted in
Kirtichakra by director
Major Ravi, in which he plays the role of an
Indian Army officer Major Mahadevan. The movie was shot in
Kashmir.
[and was a commercial success.
A
dubbed version of the movie was released in Tamil as
Aran, but Mohanlal disassociated himself with the movie since his voice was not used, stating that "I prefer to speak for my role in the film."
Mohanlal also acted in the sequels
Kurukshetra (2008) and
Kandahar (2010).
In 2007, Mohanlal won the
Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in the movie
Paradesi directed by
P.T. Kunju Muhammed. The movie garnered positive reviews,
with
Sify.com noting that "Mohanlal is mesmerising and reinvents the idiom of acting once more with feeling."
The same year, he appeared in his second
Bollywoodmovie,
Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, and in
Hallo, which became one of the biggest Malayalam hits in 2007.
[67] In
Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, a remake of
Sholay, Mohanlal played the role of the protagonist Narasimham, a cop with a vendetta against the criminal Babban Singh played by
Amitabh Bachchan. The movie received extremely poor reviews and Mohanlal's performance was also criticized.
[68][69] Rediff.com commented that the actor, forced to speak "farcical, formulaic tripe", "gave up the chase for greatness halfway through".
]2010–present
His 2010 releases,
Alexander the Great, and
Kandahar, did not fare well at the box office.
Shikkar is the only movie he has in 2010 as a commercial success.
Malayala Manorama criticized his choice of roles commenting that Malayalees did not want to see another "The “I Am Still Superman” Mohanlal Movie" in 2011 and that the actor should "either shape up for the roles he is trying to play or stick to roles that suit him".
His first release of 2011 was the multi-starrer
Christian Brothers is the second highest grossing malayalam film ever collecting around 30 crores, released on 18 March 2011 in which he acted alongside
Suresh Gopi,
Dileep and
Sarath Kumar. His another release was
Pranayam, a highly acclaimed multi-starrer featuring
Jaya Prada and
Anupam Kher, which released on 31 August 2011. His performance in
Pranayam has been applauded by the critics and the viewers. His next film
Snehaveedu, directed by Sathyan Anthikkadu, also fared well amidst mixed critical reviews.
His first release in 2012 was
Casanovva, the much-delayed big-budget movie. The costliest movie in Malayalam film industry, the film was failure among critics
as well as at the box office.
[
Mohanlal has acted in over 300 Malayalam films and produced or co-produced over 35 films. His acting credits include some Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada films. He has acted in 4 professional plays. He has sung over 25 songs, most of them for the films he acted in.
Theatre and television
Kadhayattam was a presentation enacted by Mohanlal, depicting 10 unforgettable characters and situations selected from
Malayalam literature.
He has said that it is his offering to his mother tongue. The play was staged at
Kottayam on 1 November 2003.
The presentation was a fusion of stage acting, movie expression, sound and lighting techniques and music, conceived by film director
T. K. Rajeev Kumar.
Chayamukhi is Mohanlal's latest play, presented under the banner of Kalidasa Visual Magic, a production house promoted jointly by Mohanlal and Malayalam actor
Mukesh. Mohanlal performed the role of
Bheeman and Mukesh performed the role of
Keechakan. The play was first staged at Thrichur on 12 March 2008.
Mohanlal has also appeared in several television commercials and advertisemens including Malabar Gold ad with
Hema Malini and
Sania Mirza, MCR ad with
Sarath Kumar, Oceanus ad, Manappuram Gold Loan ad with
Akshay Kumar, etc.
Business venture
Mohanlal has also started several business ventures related to film production and distribution, restaurants and packaged spices among others. He owns
Maxlab Cinemas and Entertainments, a Malayalam film distribution company and
Vismayas Max, a film post-production studio and college for dubbing artists at
Kinfra Film and Video Park,
Trivandrum. He has produced films under the banner
Pranavam Arts. He owns many restaurants including a chain in
Dubai called Mohanlal's Tastebuds,
Travancore Court in
Kochi and The Harbour Market in
Bangalore.
He is also a partner in Mohanlal's Tastebuds, a pickle and curry powder company.
His other business ventures include Uni Royal Marine Exports – a
Kozhikode-based seafood export company and
Jose Thomas Performing Arts Centre Kochi.
He is an
independent director of Clenergen India Private Limited
In 2009, Mohanlal, along with
Priyadarshan, tried to bid for an
Indian Premier League cricket team based in
Kochi;
they withdrew the bid on failing to source enough funds after a change in rules was introduced.
Mohanlal lives with his family in
Thevara,
Kochi. He married Suchitra, daughter of Tamil film producer
K. Balaji on 28 April 1988.
Mohanlal later recalled in an interview that Suchitra used to send him cards because she wanted to marry him. Their
horoscopes did not match at first, but later it was found that the
astrologer erred. Mohanlal has two children –
Pranav and Vismaya. Pranav has acted in a few movies, debuting in Mohanlal's film
Onnaman.
Mohanlal did not object when his son expressed a desire to act as "Kids may have many such ambitions. If we can help them realise something, what is the problem?"
He owns a house at
Ooty,
a villa in
Arabian Ranches and a flat in
Burj Khalifa at
Dubai.
Mohanlal is a self-described foodie.
He also enjoys melodious music. Mohanlal is a strong believer in destiny and spirituality. He likes to read
Osho,
J. Krishnamurti,
Aurobindo and
Ramana Maharshi.
He has often stated that the turn of events in his life, including his film career, was accidental.
[
In 2008, while shooting for the movie
Kurukshetra in which he plays the role of an
Army officer, Mohanlal expressed interest to join
Territorial Army of India as an officer.
On July 9, 2008, he was formally inducted to the Territorial Army in the rank of
Lieutenant Colonel by Army Chief
Deepak Kapoor. Rules had to be amended to accommodate him as men above the age of 42 are not eligible to join the volunteer force.
