We examine Mammootty 3.0, his continuous, fascinating career phase, and how he has adjusted to the changing times and sensibilities on the occasion of his 72nd birthday.
Isn’t it amazing how the most promising actor is still a 72-year-old man in a field where new talent is constantly emerging? For Mammootty, an actor with 52 years of experience, who has won seven Kerala State Film Awards in addition to three National Film Awards and has ruled Malayalam cinema for over 35 years, it is simple to settle for mediocrity and make movies solely for the purpose of “entertaining the fans.”
In actuality, Mammootty also experienced such a slump throughout a major portion of the 2010s. A comeback is uncommon for many celebrities in such circumstances because they get too accustomed to their routines.
But Mammootty’s insatiable appetite for art propelled him to completely reinvent himself toward the close of the previous decade, staging a successful comeback in a way never before witnessed.
Since 2019, he has excelled in portraying a variety of characters, and his capacity to fully engross himself in their subtleties and willingness to experiment with a wide range of roles and genres have catapulted him to previously unheard-of heights.
However, Mammootty’s revival is not a brand-new occurrence. He had a dramatic shift and made an incredible return with New Delhi (1987) even in the 1980s, following a string of flops. So Mammootty 3.0 is the actor we can see right now.
We examine the actor who has remade himself, his ongoing, fascinating career phase, and how he has adjusted to the changing times and sensibilities on the occasion of his 72nd birthday on Thursday (September 7).
Mammootty : Back to the beginning
Following a three-year period from 2016 to 2018 during which 14 films of poor quality were released, Mammootty let go of his star persona in 2019 and embraced the role that launched his career. Ram’s Peranbu was where he made a comeback. He did an amazing job of portraying a middle-aged single father who is frantically trying to get back in touch with his daughter who has a muscle health issue. What made him stand out was how subtly he embodied the part, making sure that his fame did not overshadow any of the work.
For instance, there is a touching scene where Amudhavan (Mammootty) attempts a variety of strategies to win his daughter’s confidence and affection, including singing, dancing, and animal impersonation. Mammootty entirely vanishes in this single three-minute shot, leaving only Amudhavan. With exquisite accuracy, he conveys both his readiness to go to tremendous lengths and his sense of powerlessness. In another scenario, Amudhavan tries to put himself in his daughter’s shoes to better understand the struggles she deals with on a daily basis. Mammootty’s exceptional acting talent was on display as a result of his ability to convey his feelings effectively using his facial expressions.
Many people were shocked by the filmmaker Mahi V Raghav’s decision to put Mammootty, a non-Telugu actor, as the lead in his biopic of the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, the former Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh. With his outstanding performance in Yatra, a film about a crucial political campaign tour in YSR’s life, Mammootty silenced the doubters. YSR’s authoritative nature was not compromised in Mammootty’s ability to portray all the subtleties of the late CM, with a special focus on the late CM’s emotional and humanistic dimensions as well as his great respect for the people.
After the Tamil drama and Telugu biopic, Mammootty went back to his native Malayalam and acted in Vysakh’s Madhura Raja, an action comedy. The actor’s enormous star appeal helped the movie succeed despite its thin plot and conformity to the standard mass-hero formula.
The Mammootty we’ve been missing is back
Mammootty and director Khalid Rahman initially collaborated soon after Madhura Raja. Audiences were reintroduced to a side of Mammootty in Unda, one of the best Malayalam movies of the past ten years, that they hadn’t seen since films like Kazhcha, Palunku, and Kaiyoppu.
He played an everyday, regular man in this movie, with none of the flashy star garb. Mammootty demonstrated his abilities as SI Mani, a Malayali police officer assigned with a group of subordinates in a distant district of Bastar, Chhattisgarh, for election duty.
When Maoists attack the cops’ bunker in a crucial scene in the middle of the movie, Mani is rendered practically motionless, paralyzed by dread. He is visibly unable to react or move, and he appears to be both humiliated and unsure of what has happened.
When he tells an Army officer about this experience, the officer thinks it might have been a mild heart attack. Mammootty’s subtle reaction here through his facial expressions, together with his portrayal of the weaknesses of a middle-aged guy experiencing helplessness and his fear of Maoists and a potential medical ailment, is stunning.
The next scene shows Mani on the phone with his wife in their home country. At first cautious, he assures his wife that everything is alright while covertly scanning the shelter to make sure no Maoists are hiding nearby.
He forgets to be alert, though, and gets completely absorbed in their talk as their conversation goes on and he is wrapped in the warmth and tenderness of her voice. These subtleties are present throughout the entirety of his on-screen performance.
The actor also didn’t hesitate to let other people use his fame to promote their movies, as shown in Ramesh Pisharody Ganagandharvan and Pathinettam Padi by Shanker Ramakrishnan.
Although his subsequent two movies, Mamangam by M Padmakumar and Shylock by Ajai Vasudev, were commercially very successful, they did not fully realize the actor’s talent and earned unfavorable reviews.
Even though his following movies, the political drama One and the supernatural horror The Priest, gained attention for showcasing a more restrained and controlled side of his acting ability in 2021, the films’ general lackluster reception raised concerns about whether Mammootty was returning to his earlier style.
The actor-superstar Mammootty then made a victorious comeback and created an unheard-of gangster role in Amal Neerad’s Bheeshma Parvam, a mix of toughness and swagger. Don Vito Corleone and his son Michael from The Godfather were both inspirations for Mammootty’s character Anjootti Michael.
He radiated power and poise like Vito, effortlessly asserting his supremacy with a few glances, but when the time was right, he stepped into the conflict and proved his mettle, much like Michael Corleone.
Mammootty’s strength as an actor and superstar was demonstrated in a crucial moment at the end of the movie. In this scenario, Michael meets a bunch of competitors and threatens them with severe repercussions if they cross his path.
Mammootty’s expression at this very moment is unmatched, making him a really distinctive persona. Michael displays his willingness to go beyond the pale of evil by being driven by wrath, having a diabolical smirk on his lips, having eyes that shine with wetness reflecting the lights of the automobile in front of him, and having muscles that are tensed and steadfast despite his henchmen’s attempts to restrain him. This sequence perfectly illustrates Mammootty’s range of abilities.
The actor’s subsequent production, CBI 5: The Brain, was the fifth installment in the venerable CBI franchise, and it saw him return to his renowned detective Sethurama Iyer role.
Kerala loved CBI 5 despite its lackluster production value, largely as a result of Mammootty’s 34-year-long depiction of this character.
always raising the bar
We saw yet another example of Mammootty’s acting talent in Ratheena’s Puzhu, where he played an adversary. Because he continually outperforms himself throughout the entire movie, it is impossible to single out a particular shot or moment.
Mammootty did an amazing job of bringing a self-righteous casteist bigot to life while making sure that no aspect of the character was sympathetic or empathetic.
Special note should be given to the way he handled Kuttan’s “vulnerable” and “innocent” moments, which showed a keen knowledge of the character without ever idealizing it.
With the neo-noir psychological action thriller Rorschach, he set an even higher standard. The viewers were riveted as Mammootty expertly captured Luke Antony’s passionate desire for vengeance and the depth of his grief following the murder of his wife.
Thanks to his unreserved and remarkable talent, the actor shattered all of his prior performances in Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam and emerged as a formidable rival even for the younger generation.
Mammootty’s performance of James/Sundaram is a turning point in acting because he skillfully straddles the lines between reality and fiction, sanity and insanity, and rationality and irrationality, giving both characters distinct characteristics and mannerisms.
Mammootty’s easy and compelling depiction makes the scenes stand out where James and Sundaram take center stage among crowds.
He mouths a renowned Sivaji Ganeshan line in a bar scene, the powerful “Naan intha oorkaaran thaan” line, and Sundaram telling the locals about a past occurrence are all notable examples of his mastery. His ability to articulate emotions through facial expressions is further highlighted by the numerous close-up views in the movie.
Although the problematic plot of his next movie, the action thriller Christopher, which glorifies extrajudicial executions, caused him to step back a little,
Mammootty stayed devoted to his role and gave a performance in line with his developing acting style, known as Mammootty 3.0. Expectations are therefore skyrocketing with upcoming films like Kannur Squad, Kaathal – The Core, Bazooka, and Bramayugam.
More About Mammootty
Born on September 7, 1951, Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail is an Indian actor and producer best known by the moniker Mammootty. He primarily appears in Malayalam and Tamil-language movies. Additionally, he has made appearances in works in Hindi, Kannada, English, and Telugu. He has appeared in more than 400 films during a five-decade acting career.
Numerous awards, including three National Film Awards, seven Kerala State Film Awards, and thirteen Filmfare Awards South, have been given to him. The Indian government honored him with the Padma Shri in 1998 for his contributions to cinema. He received the second-highest honor bestowed by the Keralan government, the Kerala Prabha Award, in 2022.
Mammootty’s Age
In 1971, Mammootty made his acting debut in the Malayalam film Anubhavangal Paalichakal. He played the lead in the 1979 unreleased movie Devalokam by I. V. Sasi. When Mammootty won the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor in 1981 for his work in the movie Ahimsa,
it marked his big break. The 1983 motion pictures Sandhyakku Virinja Poovu and Aa Raathri were among the most successful in terms of box office. His economic chances were brightened by the 1987 crime thriller New Delhi after a string of box office disappointments.
Mammootty became one of the top stars of Malayalam cinema with the films that came out during the course of the following ten years.
Mammootty enjoyed a run of critical and financial success in the 2000s. He earned the National Film Award for Best Actor in 2000 for his work in the Hindi and English biography Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. He also received Kerala State Film Awards in 2004 and 2009 for the films Kaazcha and Paleri Manikyam.
In addition to receiving critical acclaim, he won Filmfare Awards for Best Actor in the first three of the following films: Pranchiyettan & the Saint (2010), Varsham (2014), Pathemari (a period piece), and Unda (a black comedy).
The historical dramas Madhura Raja and Mamangam, both released in 2019, and the action thriller Bheeshma Parvam, both released in 2022, are among his highest-grossing films.
The owner of the Malayalam television networks Kairali TV,
Kairali News and Kairali We is Mammootty, chairman of Malayalam Communications. The distribution-producing banner Playhouse and the Mammootty Kampany are two of the many production companies he owns.