Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair (born 21 May 1960), better known as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, producer and occasional singer best known for his work in Malayalam films. Mohanlal made his acting debut in Thiranottam (1978), but the film got released only after 25 years due to censorship issues. His first film to be released was Manjil Virinja Pookkal (1980), in which he played the antagonist.
In 1991, Mohanlal produced and starred in Bharatham which is interpreted as a modern-day adaptation of the Ramayana from Bharath's perspective. The film was a critical and commercial success, and got Mohanlal the National Film Award for Best Actor for that year. His role in Bharatham was listed among the 25 best acting performances of Indian cinema by Forbes India on the occasion of celebrating 100 years of Indian Cinema. In 1999, he produced and acted in Vanaprastham, which won him his second National Film Award for Best Actor. It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival (AFI Fest),and was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Vanaprastham was screened in retrospective, during the 2014 International Film Festival of India in the Celebrating Dance in Indian cinema section.
In a career spanning over three decades, Mohanlal has acted in over 300 Malayalam films in various genres and a few films outside Malayalam cinema in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, which include works such as Iruvar (1997), Company (2002), and Manamantha (2016). Mohanlal has won four Indian National Film Awards – two Best Actor Awards, one Special Jury Award, and one Award for Best Film as producer; along with six Kerala State Film Awards for Best Actor and eight Filmfare Awards for Best Actor. In 2001, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, for his contributions towards Indian cinema. In 2009, he became the first and the only actor to receive the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army of India and in 2010 he received an honorary doctorate from Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kerala.
Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair was born on 21 May 1960 in the Elanthoor village of Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, at his maternal house, as the youngest child of Viswanathan Nair, a former bureaucrat and law secretary with the Kerala Government, and Santhakumari. He grew up at Mudavanmugal, Poojappura, at his paternal house, in Thiruvananthapuram. Mohanlal studied at Model School, Thiruvananthapuram, and graduated with a B.Com. from Mahatma Gandhi College in Thiruvananthapuram. Mohanlal received his first ever recognition as an actor when he was in sixth grade for a stage play called Computer Boy in which he enacted a ninety-year-old person.
In 1977–78 he was the Kerala state wrestling champion.
Mohanlal made his acting debut in 1978 with the film Thiranottam which was produced and made by Mohanlal and his friends—Maniyan Pilla Raju, Suresh Kumar, Unni, Priyadarshan, Ravi Kumar and few others. Mohanlal played Kuttappan, a mentally disabled servant. Due to some issues in censorship, the film was not released in time, it took 25 years to release the film.
In 1980, Mohanlal was cast in the lead antagonist role in Manjil Virinja Pookkal – the directorial debut of Fazil. The film became a major success. Mohanlal's friends had sent his application in response to an advertisement released by Navodaya Studio. He was auditioned for the role in front of a panel that included professional directors; displeased with his appearance, two of them gave him poor marks but Fazil and Jijo Appachan gave him 90 and 95 marks out of 100. 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 it had him playing negative roles. Films such as Ente Mohangal Poovaninju, Iniyengilum, Visa, Attakkalasham, Kaliyil Alpam Karyam, Ente Mamattukkuttiyammakku, Engane Nee Marakkum, Unaru, and Sreekrishna Parunthu changed his villain image. Through Sasikumar's Ivide Thudangunnu, he became a successful hero with a "good heart". Mohanlal played his first comedic lead role in an ensemble cast in the 1984 comedy Poochakkoru Mookkuthi directed by Priyadarshan, as a young man in love with a girl whom he mistakenly believes to be rich. It also marked the beginning of the Mohanlal-Priyadarshan duo who As of 2016 have worked together in 44 films.
In 1985, he recorded a song for the film Onnanam Kunnil Oradi Kunnil. Uyarangalil, Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu, Boeing Boeing, and Aram + Aram = Kinnaram were some of his films in this period.
During this period, Mohanlal played 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 scriptwriter Sreenivasan, who played his sidekick in several films, 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.
In 1986, he starred in T. P. Balagopalan M.A., directed by Sathyan Anthikad, for which he received his first Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor. He portrayed an unemployed young who shoulders the responsibility of his family. His performance in Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam as a harassed house-owner won him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Malayalam) in the same year. Mohanlal was dubbed as the new Malayalam superstar after the box-office success of Rajavinte Makan (1986) in which he played an underworld don, Vincent Gomez. He also starred in the tragedy Thalavattom, playing Vinod, a young man who becomes mentally ill upon witnessing his girlfriend's death. He played the role of Solomon in Padmarajan's Namukku Parkkan Munthirithoppukal. Mohanlal's association with Padmarajan was very well noted, because their films told stories which were well and truly ahead of their times and broke many conventional stereotypes prevailing during that time in Malayalam film industry. In 1986 alone, Mohanlal appeared in 36 Malayalam films.
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 its 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, 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 366 days in a theatre, becoming the longest running Malayalam film. Mohanlal won a Kerala State Special Jury Award in 1988 for his acting in Padamudra, Aryan, Vellanakalude Nadu, Ulsavapittennu, and Chithram.
In 1989, the combination of writer Lohitha Das and director Sibi Malayil created the character Sethu Madhavan, who dreams of becoming a police officer but ends up as a criminal, in the tragedy Kireedam, the role earned Mohanlal a National Film Special Jury Mention. 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 the same year, he acted in a film which became a commercial success, Varavelpu, which tells the story of a man who earned money working in Gulf and came back home to enjoy his life with family. He bought a bus, which will eventually gets him into trouble. The former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, mentioned the film 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 1989, he starred in another one of Padmarajan's movies, Season.
In the early 1990s, Mohanlal acted in a number of commercial films, such as His Highness Abdullah, Midhunam, and No.20 Madras Mail. His Highness Abdullah was the first independent production of Mohanlal, under his company, Pranavam Arts International. Mohanlal appeared in Bharathan's Thazhvaram in 1990, as a widower seeking revenge for the murder of his wife by his most trusted friend. His romantic comedy Kilukkam in 1991 won him a State Film Award for Best Actor. The film is considered as one of the greatest comedy films of all time in Malayalam. It also became the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the time. 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.He portrayed a Bharatanatyam dancer in Kamaladalam(1992). He took help from his choreographer and his co-actors and professional dancers Vineeth and Monisha for enacting the dance scenes. Rajashilpi, Sadayam, Yoddha, and Vietnam Colony were the other films released in 1992. The drama Devaasuram (1993), 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 in the lead role as Dr. Sunny Joseph in Fazil directed cult classic Manichitrathazhu, as a psychiatrist. Spadikam was a 1995 work for which he won his third Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor and fifth Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Malayalam) for his portrayal of Thomas "Aadu Thoma" Chacko, a young man who becomes a thug, estranged from his father, upon failing to meet the latter's high expectations. In 1996, Mohanlal starred in Priyadarshan's Kaalapani, an epic film about the prisoners in the Cellular Jail of Port Blair and Lohithadas's Kanmadam (1998). He played the lead role in Guru directed by Rajiv Anchal in 1997. The film was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category for 1997.
Mohanlal's acted in his first non-Malayalam film in 1997, in the Tamil biographical film Iruvar directed by Mani Ratnam. The film, in which Mohanlal depicted an actor who turns politician (based on the life of M. G. Ramachandran), was a critical success and won many awards including the Best Film award at the Belgrade International Film Festival and two National Film Awards.In 1998, he produced and starred in Harikrishnans co-starring Mammootty and Juhi Chawla. The film was a commercial success but was not well received by critics. The film had duel climaxes which were screened in different regions based on whether Mohanlal or Mammootty was more popular there determined by their religion. 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. The major case was that the film showed uncensored scenes, the submitted cut of the film to the Central Board of Film Certification was the Mohanlal version. Hence they were forced to remove the Mammootty version from theatres, replacing it with the original. Though in television premieres it still shows both film versions alternatively.
Mohanlal depicted a Kathakali artist whose personal life is a tragedy in the 1999 Indo-French period drama Vanaprastham directed by Shaji N. Karun and produced by Mohanlal. It won him the second National Award for Best Actor and was the first film that got him international recognition by screening in various Film festivals. The film was selected for the competitive section at the Cannes Film Festival and his performance was critically acclaimed. It also earned him his fourth Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor, second National Film Award for Best Actor and sixth Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Malayalam).
In 2000, Mohanlal starred in Narasimham, playing a rogue with a good heart. It became the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time. In the next two years, Mohanlal was typecasted in similar larger-than-life action hero roles in films such as Ravanaprabhu (2001), Praja (2001), Onnaman (2002), Thandavam (2002), and Chathurangam (2002). Except for Ravanaprabhu, these films were widely criticised for their repetitive plots, lewd dialogues, punch lines and male chauvinistic outlook. A critic from The New Indian Express wrote, "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,".
In 2002, Mohanlal played the role of Sreenivasan IPS, a Mumbai police officer, in his first Bollywood film, Company, which introduced him to the Hindi-speaking audience in India and for which he won the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) and Star Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor. The film 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".In a 2010 online poll by Hindifilmnews.com, Mohanlal's performance in Company was chosen "The Finest Performance of a Bollywood Actor in the Last Decade (2001–2010)". He was No. 1 in the audiences' list and maintained No. 6 in the critics' list.
The following year, Mohanlal, trying to change his action hero image, returned to comedic 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 also a commercial success. Mohanlal played the role of Athanipparambil Balachandran, a bank employee always willing to lend a helping hand to others, who is forced to hide many secrets after his father's death leading to his family's mistrust. In 2004, Natturajavu was his only commercial success and Mambazhakkalam became a hit.
Mohanlal appeared in the 2005 black comedy Udayananu Tharam as an aspiring film director. It was well received by critics and performed 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 highly praised by critics. Mohanlal won his fifth Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor and seventh Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance; his character does not speak in the second half of the film.
In 2006, he worked with the director Sathyan Anthikkad in Rasathanthram, a family drama. Mohanlal also acted in Kirtichakra by director Major Ravi, in which he plays the role of an Indian Army officer, Major Mahadevan. The film was shot in Kashmir, and was a notable commercial success. A dubbed Tamil version of the film was released in Tamil Nadu as Aran, but Mohanlal disassociated himself with the film 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 Major Mahadevan series. In 2009 the Indian government conferred him with the honorary title of Lieutenant colonel from Indian Territorial Army.
In 2007, Mohanlal won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in Paradesi directed by P. T. Kunju Muhammed. Sify.com stated that "Mohanlal is mesmerising and reinvents the idiom of acting once more with feeling." His July release Hallo became one of the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year. In August that year, he appeared in his second Bollywood film, Aag (also called Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag), a remake of the Bollywood classic Sholay (1975). Mohanlal reprised the role played by Sanjeev Kumar from the original. In 2008, Mohanlal did the lead role in the multi-star film Twenty:20 and in 2009 he co-starred with Kamal Haasan in the Tamil film Unnaipol Oruvan. His last film of the year Evidam Swargamanu was directed by Rosshan Andrrews.
In 2010, he acted in five films, the first being Janakan, a crime thriller which he co-starred with Suresh Gopi, written by S. N Swamy, he played Adv. Surya Narayanan who encounters some runaway suspects came for justice. Alexander the Great directed by Murali Nagavally was a comical racy entertainer released in May. Oru Naal Varum directed by T. K Rajeev Kumar, scripted by Sreenivasan and produced by Maniyanpilla Raju, was a social satire about the corruption in India. It reunited the much-adored classic combo of Mohanlal-Sreenivasan onscreen. His next film was Shikkar a dark revenge thriller directed by M. Padmakumar, in which he played a lorry driver who is haunted by his past. The film topped at the Ramzan box-office. Followed in the end was Kandahar directed by Major Ravi, a war film based on the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 in 1999, Mohanlal reprised the role of Major Mahadevan in the film. It was the third installment in the Major Mahadevan film series, and the debut Malayalam film of Amitabh Bachan.
His first release in 2011 was the multi-starrer Christian Brothers, an action drama directed by Joshiy and scripted by Udayakrishna-Siby K. Thomas, he co-starred with Suresh Gopi, Dileep, and Sarath Kumar. Released in March worldwide on 300 screens, which was the largest release for a Malayalam film at the time. This racy film was a commercial success and one of the top grossing Malayalam film of the year. His Vishu (April) release was China Town, another multi-starrer he co-starred with Jayaram and Dileep was a comedy film directed by Rafi Mecartin. Despite of the mixed reviews, the film ran over 100 days and became one of the highest grossing Malayalam of the year. He starred in Pranayam released in August, an off-beat romantic drama directed by Blessy. It was a love story between three aged characters played by Mohanlal, Anupam Kher, and Jayapradha. The film was highly acclaimed by the critics and Mohanlal's performance as Mathews was well appreciated. His next film, Snehaveedu, was directed by Sathyan Anthikkadu, a family film in the background of a village in Palakkad. For the first time, yesterday's actress Sheela shared screen space with Mohanlal, she played the role of his mother. Snehaveedu is credited as his 300th film. The film was a hit. His last in the year was Oru Marubhoomikkadha, directed by Priyadarshan, which was an action-comedy thriller entirely plotted in Middle East. It marked the return of Priyadarshan-Mohanlal-Mukesh combo of the late 1980s and 90s. The film was a superhit at the Christmas-New year box office.
In 2012, he acted in six films. His first release was the much hyped big-budget romantic thriller film Casanovva, directed by Rosshan Andrrews and written by Bobby-Sanjay. He enacted the role of Casanova, a serial womaniser and the owner of Casanova's Eternal Spring – an international chain of flower boutiques. Later he appeared in a cameo role in the Bollywood movie Tezz, released in April directed by Priyadarshan. His next film was B. Unnikrishnan directorial Grandmaster, a neo-noir crime thriller about a cop who is forced to investigate a series of murders. Mohanlal's well tempered, calm and subdued acting was appreciated by the critics. Produced by UTV Motion Pictures, it is the first Malayalam film to be released through Netflix, made available in the United States and Canada. Spirit directed by Ranjith talked about the increasing habit of alcoholism in Kerala. The film was exempted from entertainment tax by the state government for creating social awareness in the society.The film completed 125 days theatrical run in Kerala and became a commercial success. Run Baby Run released during the Onam festival, was a comedy thriller directed by Joshiy. It featured news media as the background. The film was well appreciated by critics, remarking it as an example of a well crafted thriller. It became one among the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year. The year ended with Christmas release Karmayodha directed by Major Ravi, an action thriller in which he played Mad Maddy, an encounter specialist who is assigned to investigate the missing of a teenage school girl in Mumbai. The film dealt with the discrimination against women.
2013 was a remarkable year for Mohanlal, it was the year in which the all-time blockbuster of Malayalam film Drishyam released. His first film of the year was Lokpal, a vigilante thriller in which he played a vigilante nicknamed "Lokpal". It was directed by Joshiy and written by S. N. Swamy. Red Wine directed by Salam Bappu, was a non-linear investigation thriller based on a political murder. Ladies and Gentleman directed by Siddique was a romantic comedy film on the backdrop of IT companies. Geethaanjali, a horror thriller directed by Priyadarsan was a spin-off of Malayalam classic film Manichitrathazhu, he reprised the role of Dr. Sunny from the original. His last release was Drishyam directed by Jeethu Joseph.
In 2014, he starred in Tamil action-drama Jilla alongside Vijay, directed by R. T. Neason and produced by R. B. Choudary. It completed 100 days theatrical run in theatres in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Mohanlal's first Malayalam release of 2014 was Mr. Fraud, a heist film directed by B. Unnikrishnan. He appeared in an extended cameo role in his next, Koothara directed by Srinath Rajendran, a coming-of-age mystery film set in an untold period. He played a mysterious character in the experimental film, who at the end of the film revealed as a merman. His next was a comical political satire film Peruchazhi, written and directed by Arun Vaidyanathan. He played a young political kingmaker who is assigned to make a governor candidate to win the California state gubernatorial elections, there he uses standard Indian political gimmicks to win the election.
In 2015, first release was the Kannada film Mythri. His performance as the revenge seeking DRDO scientist Mahadev was well appreciated by the critics. His first Malayalam release was with a cameo appearance in Rasam. Ennum Eppozhum directed by Sathyan Anthikad was his first leading role in the year, co-starring Manju Warrier. The film was a success at the box office. It was followed by the action thriller Lailaa O Lailaa directed by Joshiy, it failed both critically and commercially. His next was Ranjith directorial thriller Loham. Though it met with the mixed critical reactions, the film was a commercial success. The revenge thriller Kanal was his last in the year. It also received mixed reviews from critics.
The first release of Mohanlal in 2016 was the Telugu-Malayalam bilingual, Manamantha, (Vismayam in Malayalam), a family drama directed by Chandra Sekhar Yeleti. His following release was another Telugu film, Janatha Garage, an action drama directed by Koratala Siva. The film became the highest-grossing Telugu film of 2016 and one of the highest-grossing Telugu films ever. His first Malayalam release was Priyadarshan directed crime-thriller, Oppam, in which he played a blind man. The film has become the highest-grossing Malayalam film of 2016, within its 2 weeks of theatrical run. And crossed ₹50 crore mark at the box office with one and a half month of release. His following release was the action film Pulimurugan, he starred in the title role of a hunter. It became the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever and is the first Malayalam film to gross over ₹100 crore at the box office.
