Mammootty Biodata

Mammootty Biodata

Name: Mammootty

Sex: Male

Date of Birth: 07 Sep 1953

Place of Birth: Chempu, Vaikom, Kottayam

ABOUT MAMMOOTTY:

Mammootty (born Pannaparambil Muhammad Kutty)is an award winning Indian film actor. During a career spanning more than quarter of a century, he has acted in more than 300 films as the lead actor in Malayalam movies, a distinction he shares with Prem Nazir. Mammootty is considered by many critics to be one of the finest actors in Indian cinema who excels in both art and commercial films.

Mammootty received many major awards for his performance. These include three National awards, four State awards and eight Filmfare Awards in the best actor category. He is the only actor apart from Kamal Haasan to win National Film Award for Best Actor three times. In 1998, the Government of India honored him with Padma Shri for his outstanding contributions to Indian cinema.

Mammootty is also the Chairman of Malayalam Communications, which runs popular Malayalam TV channels like Kairali TV, People TV and We TV. After a survey among its readers, Vanitha magazine selected Mammootty as the actor with the most sex appeal. Mammootty has promoted humanitarian causes throughout Kerala, and he is the Goodwill Ambassador of the Akshaya project.

Family and early life

Mammooty was born in Chempu, near Vaikom in Kottayam, India in a middle class Muslim family to Ismail, an agriculturist, and Fatima, a housewife. Along with his siblings he grew up in Chempu, Vaikom. During his school life he was involved in sports and arts. He received his education from the Maharajas College, Kochi, and then studied law at Ernakulam Government Law College. He also practiced law for two years in Manjeri. He married Sulfath in 1980 and has a daughter, Surumi and a son, Dulquar Salman.

Acting career

Early career, 1971-1980

Mammootty's first screen appearance was in 1971 in Anubhavangal Paalichakal, directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan. However his role was uncredited. He was a student at the Maharajas College then. In 1973, he got another role in Kalachakram, a Prem Nazir movie directed by K. Narayanan.

His professional film career began in 1979, when he played his first lead role in Devalokam, directed by vetaran M. T. Vasudevan Nair. However, this film was never released.

Breakthrough, 1980s

Vilkanundu Swapnangal, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and directed by M. Azad was Mammootty's first notable film. His roles in films like Mela where he played a Circus artist, and Thrishna , directed by I.V. Sasi got him noticed. His first superhit film as a hero was Thrishna, released in 1981. After the success of Thrishna, Mammootty and I.V. Sasi together created many hits such as Aavanazhi and Inspector Balram.

The role of a police officer in the investigative thriller Yavanika (1982) directed by K. G. George cemented his position as a hero in Malayalam cinema. The film was a big commercial success and Mammootty's role got rave reviews for its style and dialogue delivery. This was the beginning of a trend whereby Mammootty would play the role of a tough cop in many action and investigative thrillers in the coming years.

In 1981, he got his first award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Ahimsa.

New realms of stardom

The period 1982-1984 saw Mammootty evolve into a commercially viable hero in mainstream Malayalam cinema, Padmarajan’s Koodevide and Joshy’s Aa Raathri were highly successful in the box office. His performances in films like Aalkootathil Thaniye and Adiyozhukkukal, scripted by M.T.Vasudevan Nair established him as an actor of substance. Mammooty was noted for his controlled acting, never crossing the limits, and his presentation of M. T.’s dialogues, which were always pregnant with meaning.

In a period of five years from 1982 to 1986 Mammootty acted in more than 150 films as the hero. During this period, Mammooty managed the rare distinction of appearing as the hero in an astonishing 35 movies released in a single year, 1986.

His role as Karunan in Adiyozhukkukal directed by I.V. Sasi, written by M. T. got him the Best Actor State Award and Filmfare Award . Mammootty won the State special jury award and best actor Filmfare award for Yathra directed by Balu Mahendra. The film proved to be one of the best in Mammootty's career. In 1985, his role as Ravi Varma in Nirakkoottu, directed by Joshy, penned by Dennis Joseph got much acclaim and also created box office history.

Career slump, mid 1980s

For a short while during mid 80's, Mammooty saw a decline in his career. Many of his films during this period saw him portraying very stereotypical roles as a familyman or a businessman.

Regaining stardom, 1987

Mammootty made a comeback with New Delhi and Thaniyavarthanam, both released in 1987. New Delhi was a very important movie in his life as an actor. The film was loosely based on the novel, "The Almighty" by Irving Wallace.[13] His portrayal of a victimized journalist, who systematically took revenge on politicians who flattered him, was noticed and well accepted by the masses. Meanwhile, his role as Balan mash in Thaniyavarthanam, written by Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil, was critically acclaimed.

Era of superhits, 1987-1996

In 1988 Mammootty delivered one of the biggest hits in the history of Malayalam Cinema with his Oru CBI Diary Kurippu. Oru CBI Diary Kurippu went on to create box-office history in Kerala as well as in Tamil Nadu. Mammootty's role as a CBI officer in this film got him critical acclaim. Following the success of the first CBI film Oru CBI Diary Kurippu, three more murder mystery sequels were produced with the same cast of characters: Jagratha (1989), Sethurama Iyer CBI (2004) and Nerariyan C.B.I (2005), all directed by K Madhu, penned by S.N. Swamy with Mammootty as Sethurama Iyer, an intelligent but unassuming CBI officer. The films by M.T. Vasudevan Nair and Padmarajan, arguably among the best of Malayalam writer-directors, widened Mammootty's acting horizon. Two of M.T. Vasudevan Nair’s films with autobiographical elements were acted by Mammootty. One was Aksharangal directed by I.V. Sasi and the other was Sukrutham directed by Harikumar.

Mammootty touched the pinnacle of his career in Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha; the film was directed by T.Hariharan and penned by M.T.Vasudevan Nair. His depiction of a Chekavar (mercenary warrior) of distinguished valor but vilified by circumstances won him the National Film Award for Best Actor. Along with the huge commercial success of the film, Mammooty was given rave reviews about his lead role in the film, which required heavy physical and phsychological preparations.

Mammootty's performance in Mathilukal directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan was also considered for the award. His role as a hunter Varunni in Mrugaya, directed by I.V. Sasi, and another film Mahayanam, was also scanned for the State Award. Mammootty won the Filmfare award for Amaram directed by Bharathan. He played the role of an uneducated fisherman who dreams of making his only daughter a doctor.

During this time, Mammootty appeared in many of the films directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan's. He starred in three of his films, Anantharam ('Thenceforth'), Mathilukal ('Walls') and Vidheyan ('The Servile'). His portrayal of the protagonist in Mathilukal (based on 'Mathilukal', a novel by the ace Malayalam novelist Vaikom Muhammad Basheer) was instrumental in getting him his first National Film Award for Best Actor. Mammootty also portrayed the roles in Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Vidheyan and TV Chandran's Ponthan Mada.

He received the National Film Award for Best Actor and State Award for his roles in both films. His performance in Valtsalyam directed by Cochin Haneefa was also considered for the State Award. The King, scripted by Renji Panikkar, was released in 1995 and was directed by Shaji Kailas. Mammootty played the central character as a District collector and it turned out to be the biggest hit of the year.

Current era, 2000-present

Shah Rukh Khan, Mammootty, Juhi Chawla and Mohanlal in an abandoned climax scene in Harikrishnans(1998), directed by Fazil

Mammootty won his third National Film Award for Best Actor for Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar, an English language movie about the life of Ambedkar, directed by Jabbar Patel[14]Sponsored by National Film Development Corporation of India and the Ministry of Social Justice, the film was released after a long and controversial gestation period.

Mammootty's commercial hits in early 2000 include Chronic Bachelor(2003) and Sethurama Iyer CBI(2004).Sethurama Iyer CBI was the third film in a series of films starring Mammootty as 'Sethurama Iyer', a sharp and highly intelligent investigative officer of the CBI. The first two movies were Oru CBI Diary Kurippu(1988) and Jagratha.(1989). Released in January 2004, the movie broke collection records and became the biggest hit of Malayalam cinema in 2004.

Mammootty won the State Best Actor Award for his potrayal of Operator Madhavan in Kazhcha, which did well at box-office too. Mammootty’s career graph raised spectacularly after the release of Rajamanikyam directed by debutant Anwar Rasheed. Released during Ramadan 2005, the movie broke all collection records and became the biggest hit of 2005. Rajamanikyam was also touted as the biggest hit of all time ever produced in the Malayalam cinema. In 2006, Mammootty continued his success with the film Thuruppugulan. The character Gulan became a rage among the kids and a cartoon series on the character 'super gulan' was started by a kids comics.

Mammootty's action comedy Mayavi became the top grosser of 2007. His portrayal of Dr.Nathan in Shyamaprasad's Ore Kadal(2007) was critically acclaimed.

In 2008, Mammootty delivered another blockbuster Annan Thambi. The film released in 75 centres across the state and completed 50 days in nearly 61 centres.The film is touted as the biggest hit in malayalam surpassing the record of Rajamanikyam.

Also, his recent movie "Mayabazaar" holds the record for highest channel right collecting film in Malayalam Film Industry, by selling the channel right for 1.3 crores. The record breaks his own record of 1.1 crores for the film Annan Thambi.

Beyond boundaries

Mammootty had crossed the boundaries of Malayalam cinema and acted in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and English films. in 1989, he made his Tamil debut in Maunam Sammatham, directed by K. Madhu . He has acted in Tamil films with front-line directors of the industry like K. Balachander(Azhagan) and Mani Ratnam(Thalapathy). His performance along with Tamil Superstar Rajinikanth in Thalapathi made him a favorite among the Tamil audience followed by a string of interesting films in Tamil. Fazil directed Kilippechu Kekkavaa(1993) had mammootty in his rarest avatar of a romantic hero. In 1995 Mammootty had a surprise blockbuster in the form of R.k.selvamani directed Makkal Aatchi. In Kandukondain Kandukondain, directed by Rajiv Menon, his performance as Captain Bala opposite Aishwarya Rai was considered the showstealer despite a big cast including Ajithkumar, Tabu and Aishwarya Rai. Aanandam directed by N. Linguswamy had Mammootty in the role of a family man.

Mammootty has acted in few forgettable films in Tamil . Puthayal(1996) (a film on treasure hunt), Junior-Senior(2002)(a love triangle), Viswatulasi (2004)(a mature love story) were all made with impressive starcast but were critical and commercial disasters.

He made his foray into Hindi films through Thriyathri in [1989]. However, his maiden Bollywood film as hero, Dhartiputra went unnoticed., nonetheless made his presence felt on the national level with the biographical film on Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar directed by Jabbar Patel. Mammootty's Sau Jhooth Ek Sach won critical acclaim but the film didn't do well at the box office. Mammootty's Telugu film Swathi Kiranam an offbeat venture was well received by the audience and critics.

Films shown at International film festivals

His famous work Mathilukal ('The Walls') has been shown in almost 40 International Film festival beginning with Venice. The ace director Adoor Gopalakrishnan said:

“ Among my films, it is Mathilukal which has invited the maximum number of international honors. The sincere co-operation by Mammootty, the actor has played a major role in the success of the movie". ”

The film is an adaptation of the novel Mathilukal by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. The film's music is composed by Vijay Bhaskar. It was well received upon screening at the Venice International Film Festival, and won 4 awards at the National Film Awards in 1990.

Vidheyan, the cinematic adaptation of the novel "Bhaskara Pattelarum Ente Jeevithavum" by Malayalam writer Paul Zachariah explores the master-slave dialectic in a South Karnataka setting. Vidheyan won the State Film Awards for best film and best director for Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Mammootty won the National Film Award and State Film Awardfor this film in 1993. The film also won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, along with the Interfilm Award - Honorable Mention at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival.

Remarks during IIFA 2006

His remarks during the 2006 IIFA Awards ceremony held at Dubai had gained a lot of media and public attention. He openly criticized the organizers of the IIFA Awards for completely ignoring South Indian films. Mammootty suggested that the Bollywood film industry stand up to competition from the South Indian film industry before calling itself International. He commented:

“ Indian cinema is not just Bollywood, and Hindi is not the only language. Why should our films be called South Indian cinema instead of being under the banner of Indian films? ”


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