Happy Birthday Mammootty: Madhura Raja@68
Happy Birthday Mammootty: Madhura Raja@68
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A towering personality in both mainstream and art-house cinema down south, Malayalam superstar Mammootty's much-awarded career spanning three decades has him featuring in over 400 films. He is the rare actor whose appeal and popularity cuts across state boundaries. He is almost as beloved in Tamil Nadu as he is in his native Kerala. On his 67th birthday, we take a pictorial tour of his life and the incredible career.
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Roles started flowing in only in 1980 and, just like his contemporary Mohanlal, Mammootty began his career playing villains. Mammootty had a small part playing a bad guy in Vilkkanundu Swapnangal, starring Sukumaran. The same year, he starred as the main villain in Mela.
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In the mid '80s, Mammootty's graph slumped somewhat with the actor being typecast in the role of a businessman-father. The hit thriller New Delhi (1987), in which Mammootty played a victimised journalist out for revenge against corrupt politicians, revived his career from the doldrums of stereotyping.
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Mammootty followed up New Delhi with an award-winning performance in the drama Thaniyavarthanam and the record-shattering Oru CBI Diary Kurippu (1988), a mystery film that created box-office history in Kerala as well as in Tamil Nadu. His character from the film, CBI officer Sethurama Iyer, became so famous that a spin-off franchise featuring the character has spawned more films.
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By now, Mammootty was a force of nature. 1989's Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha and Mathulikal fetched Mammootty the National Award for Best Actor. A second National Award came his way with Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Vidheyan (1993) and Ponthan Mada, and a third with 1999's Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.
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The 2000s, however, were less golden for Mammootty, now trapped in cliched matinee idol roles. He tried comedy with films like Thuruppu Gulan and Rajamanikyam. But the actor made a strong comeback with Big B (2007) which became one of the biggest hits ever in Malayalam cinema and is considered a pioneering film in technical brilliance.
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In 2010, Mammootty dabbled with many styles and won over audiences with films like Pokkiri Raja (remade in Hindi as Boss), Best Actor and Pranchiyettan & The Saint. The last film became a milestone in his successful career and also earned him a National Award nomination.
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In 2016, he featured in four films - Thoppil Joppan, White, Kasaba and Puthiya Niyamam.
Kasaba, in which Mammootty played the role of a rowdy police officer, was criticised for its misogynistic dialogues and several controversial scenes. Few days after its release, actress Parvathy tweeted about the film's poor portrayal of women characters, for which she was trolled and threatened by Mammootty's fans. The film also tanked at the box office.
This image was posted on Facebook by Mammootty
