One of most echoing complaints we’ve had against our country-made superstars is that they don’t really encourage new filmmakers, new ideas and interesting scripts. They’re all either running behind cash grab remakes or tried and tested formulaic commercial entertainers. But this one superstar made sure that such complaints would never taint his legacy. The superstar is none other than Mammootty. The year 2022 would shine bright in his filmography as one of the most surprising years in his career for the kind of films he worked in as an actor, for the kind of new ideas he stood with and bank-rolled as a star-producer.
Mammootty has always been an actor who never got tired of trying new hats. After a dull set of boring films he’s been a part of since Peranbu and Unda in 2019, the actor, superstar and producer in him shined and how in the year 2022. The Indian Cinema thespian began his year with Amal Neerad’s Bheeshmaparvam where he flexed his superstar and actor muscles equally as the fiery and mighty patriarch and gangster Michealappan. Not only did the film become a blockbuster, but also one of the highest grossing Malayalam films of the year. He followed up with CBI 5: The Brain, the fifth installment of the CBI franchise reprising the iconic Sethurama Iyer CBI. Despite lackluster reviews, the film emerged to be a box office success. The superstar continued his run with another out of the box pyschological thriller ‘Puzhu’ directed by debutant Ratheena. He played a very casteist and menaceful brahmin character named Kuttan in the film. The actor heaped praises for his performance once again (quite expectedly). But what was worth the applause in this case is the fact that here’s a huge star who is trying to undo the wrongs his earlier casteist films propagated by standing up and for change.
If one thought the actor was done for the year, they’re wrong. He pulled out another magic trick up his sleeve in the form of ‘Rorschach‘. Mammootty deciding to not only creatively but also monetarily bankroll a ‘one film old director’ like Nisam Basheer’s film so as to not sprout any creative compromises from the production end, is worth all the appreciation and more. The film is all hot and buzzing at the box office with praises coming in for not only the actor’s performance but also for every technical department associated with the film. The audience is flocking in large numbers to watch their beloved superstar acing a different grade of antagonism once again in Rorschach.
The Actor in Mammootty is still alive and kicking. He has another release in the form of a Lijo Jose Pellissery directorial : ‘Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam’ this year. A film that is bound to shake some heads and make some records because two crazy creative geniuses are collaborating for the first time to entertain all of us. Mammootty bankrolls this title too, rest assured there would be no creative compromises in this case as well.
At the age of 71, flaunting a career of more than four exceptional decades, the actor in the superstar is still hungrier than ever. Collaborating with fresher minds and crazier stories, surrendering completely to his directors no matter the age and experience, nurturing the child-like curiosity in him, to surprise his fans, to take his audience off the seat once again and to leave an astounding legacy behind as a superstar who never failed to try new things.
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