Mammootty (born Muhammed Kutty Ismail Paniparambil on September 7, 1953 ) is an award winning Indian film actor and who has acted in more than 370 films as the lead actor. Mammootty is considered by many critics to be one of the finest actors in Indian cinema who excels in both art and mainstream 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 only 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 and the University of Kerala honored him by giving a honorary doctorate in 2008.
Mammootty is also the Chairman of Malayalam Communications, which runs 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 the Kottayam district of former state Travancore-Cochin, India in a middle class Muslim family to Ismail, an agriculturist, and Fatima, a housewife on September 7,1953. 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.
MFWA
Mammootty Fans & Welfare Assossiation. It was registered fans assossiation (1783/97). MFWA is the first fans assossiation in mollywood. Now MFWA is spread all over the world.
Records
(Under renoation)
Mammootty Times
It is the first film magasine in name of an actor.It is the only film magasine,with no glamour pagesI.In U.A.E Mammootty times made top circulation among other malayalam film magasines
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 veteran M. T. Vasudevan Nair. However, this film was never released.
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 by A.Prabhakaran) where he played a Circus artist, and Thrishna , directed by I.V. Sasi. His role as a hero in Thrishna was released in 1981. Mammootty and I.V. Sasi together created films such as Aavanazhi and Inspector Balram.
In 1982, his role of a police officer in the investigative thriller Yavanika (1982) directed by K. G. George 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,even in his tender age in Malayalam Film Industry,he got his first award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Ahimsa. His role in 'Ahimsa' fetched him much critical appreciations and cemented his role as the Lead actor of Malayalam which still after a long span of around 30 years is left undisturbed.
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 in which he played the role of a forest officer. The film proved to be one of the best in Mammootty's career. Mammootty showed his ability and versatality in donning different roles. 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. He gave many back to back hits to Mollywood and proved his ability to excel in both commercial and realistic films.
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. The success of movies in which he played a familyman encouraged script writers and directors to make films of the same class,and as a result this great actor got typecasted into many roles and as a result many of his movies got bombed at the box-office.
Mammootty is always known for his role-selection and this quality made him comeback through powerful roles and regain the status as the Megastar of Mollywood. 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.His portrayal of a victimized journalist, who systematically took revenge on politicians who had previously done bad things to him, was noticed and well accepted by the masses. NewDelhi created much appreciation among the masses and turned out to be the biggest grosser in the box-office and created history. Meanwhile, his role as Balan mash in Thaniyavarthanam, written by Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil, was critically acclaimed. He was however rejected the state award that year but 'Thaniyavarthanam' is still one of the best movies Malayalam cinema have ever seen.
Late 1980s and 1990s
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
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 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.
Jabbar Patel comments on Ambedkar and Mammootty:
" Anyone who has seen the film will agree that Dr Ambedkar could not have been possible without Mammootty. How did the filmmaker settle on him? I was making a film in English and I went all around the world, met and saw actors in Canada, United States and United Kingdom. Physically, many actors in America came close but I was not sure about how they would portray the whole sensibility and inner turmoil. I was also not happy about the gestures. I had shortlisted 2-3 people and knew that it would be troublesome as I would have to get them here and train them. So I was not really happy. Then I decided to do something about Mammootty, who was hiding in my mind for a very long time. "
Mammootty's commercial hits in early 2000 include Chronic Bachelor(2003) and Sethurama Iyer CBI(2004).Nerariyan CBI was the Fourth 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). Sethurama Iyer CBI 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.
In 2009, Rafi directed Love in Singapore. This film delivered a superhit song Mammootty in new style"MEGASTAR 'N' MEGA STYLE"
Also, this movie "Love in Singapore" holds the record for highest channel right collecting film in Malayalam Film Industry, by selling the channel right for 1.45 crores. The record breaks his own record of 1.3 crores for the film Mayabasar.
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. 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? "
Humanitarian works
Mammootty is involved in more than half a dozen philanthropic projects aimed at helping the needy people.
Pain and Palliative Centre
Mammootty is the patron of the Pain and Palliative care Society,a charitable organization in Kerala formed with the aim of improving the quality of life among patients with advanced cancer. He has been the fuel and the engine of the pain and Palliative care centre, situated at Kozhikode, India.Thousands of people are getting the benefits which the institution is providing. Mammootty has now put forth a novel project to provide the pain and palliative care to those suffering from cancer, living all over Kerala.
Jeevan Jothi
Mammootty is the ambassador of Jeevan Jothi - a social work project aimed at providing aid to people who are seeking treatment for any Ophthalmic diseases, Heart (cardiac) orthopedic diseases, liver diseases, renal dysfunctions, Haemophilia diseases, ENT disorders.[citation needed]
Street India Movement
Mammootty is the ambassador of a charity project, aiming at the eradication of Child abuse and Child labor. Actor Mammootty has taken over as the national ambassador of Street India Movement, an organisation formed recently to fight child labour and child begging. He has promoted the activities of the movement, which networks with orphanages and institutions looking after the children.
Kazhcha- free eye care and treatment
Kazhcha is a venture to extend free eye care and treatment to the neglected and downtrodden people of the society. This event is the first of its kind in India, organized in the name of an actors’ fans association. Kazhcha 06-07,is maintained by Mammootty Fans Welfare Association & Mammootty Times, in association with Little Flower Hospital & Research Centre and Eye Bank Association of Kerala. Under this project, around 10,000 people will be receiving free eye treatment and 1000 poor patients will have the opportunity to undergo cataract surgeries free of cost at Little Flower Hospital, Angamaly. The actual cost of each of these surgeries is around Rs.8000/-. In addition to this, all eligible patients, who are selected for surgery, will be given free accommodation, food, medicines and conveyance. This project also includes various programmes to prevent childhood blindness in society. One of the major activities related to this is distribution of free spectacles to the children from socially and economically backward families. The special fund received from the office of the President of India will be utilized for this purpose. Free eye camps will also be conducted at various places in connection to this project.
Donating foods and goods
During Onam 2007, Mammootty donated food items among thousand families in Parathodu near Kanjirappally in Kottayam district, a Kerala village which was hit by Chikungunya. The village which was worst hit by the disease claimed the most lives in the state.In a press conference Mammootty explained his motives for doing this:
" I decided to do this because the village has lost the maximum number of people to chikunguniya in the state this year. And this is not a publicity event and I would not be going there to distribute it either. This is done to see that others also come to extend a helping hand to those who are suffering "
Akshaya: Information Technology dissemination
Akshaya, the Information Technology dissemination project of the Government of Kerala,has Mammootty as the star campaigner.He formally took over as the Goodwill Ambassador of Akshaya project on February 26, 2006 at a video networked programme which was linked to all the district headquarters of the state.Mammootty will take up the responsibility of spearheading a campaign by appearing in print and visual media advertisements and other publicity materials that will send the message of Akshaya to the grassroots. He Explained:
" I am really happy to be associated with this unique project that promises to ring in wholesome change to the perceptions about Kerala as it seeks to make its presence felt in the digital era."
Mammootty is now appearing in a new role on television.He was seen giving tips on ways to master the computer keyboard or browse the internet.
If we manage to reach the benefits of information technology to the entire population, we would be able to raise ourselves to the levels of a developed society. I understand that the Akshaya project has been launched with this objective. I am sure this unique project will go to make the State a fully empowered knowledge society."
Akshaya, Kerala’s mass computer literacy campaign which has bagged several awards, has roped in the multilingual star to popularize the programme.Now launching e-lite-literacy programme in Kerala with Mircosoft.
Television career
He is the current Chairman of Malayalam Communications,which runs some popular Malayalam TV channels like Kairali TV, People TV and Channel We. etc.
Mammootty formed a television production company, Megabytes, which has produced some television serials, the first being Jwalayay in the late 1996s, which was also his first project as a producer. Jwalayay created history in Malayalam television. He had started a distribution company named Mammootty Technotainment.It has distributed his Tamil film Karmegham in Kerala. It gets the first share from the distribution rights.
Megastar formed Cinema production & distribution company, PLAYHOUSE . It was started 14 July 2009.
Other activities
Mammootty was appointed as the Global Brand ambassador of the Kerala-based South Indian Bank on October 16, 2006. The Bank chairman said this was taking into consideration the huge following Mammootty enjoys among the NRIs and his image as a clean, pan-Indian actor.
Publications
Mammootty has turned writer with his first book Kazhchapadu (roughly translated as (Perspective) a compilation of short essays he has written in various publications over the years. M. T. Vasudevan Nair the doyen of Malayalam writers and a personal friend of Mammootty issued the first copy of the book published by the famous Current Books, Trichur to C. V. Sreeraman. Speaking at the occasion, M. T. Vasudevan Nair said:
" Only those with a wealth of experience in their life can become great artists. Looking back, Mammootty had a lot of memories which he has crafted into essays which makes interesting reading. "
M. T. Vasudevan Nair was all praise for Mammootty’s style of writing. Mammootty in his speech explained:
" I have always wanted to be a writer, and had been writing even when I was a student. I hadn't published anything though, After trying to be a singer and a writer then only I became an actor. "
