As one of the biggest South Indian actors turn 70 years young tomorrow (7th September 2021), now would be the perfect time to reflect on his career in the various film industries. We are, of course, talking about the Malayalam megastar – Mammootty, and his five decade long acting career that has given us multiple memorable characters and stories. While there should be many must-watch lists featuring the veteran actor and many more will drop on his birthday tomorrow – we too will be making a list of films that showcase his best onscreen portrayals, despite the movie’s reception and “aging” (if the movie has aged well). So here are his seven must-watch characters:
The Brilliant Supporting Cast – Katha Parayumpol
Mammootty is a lead actor in most films, and for good reason – the actor oozes charisma and confidence onscreen, without any visible effort. However, once in a while, he gets offered a supporting role and under the right director, we get cinematic gold. While most of his supporting roles nowadays are guest roles (this film included), he manages to be exactly those movies need.
‘Katha Parayumpol’ follows Balan, a barber who is struggling to give his family a better life. However, his life changes when his old friend, who is a film star, comes to his village for a film shoot. Check it out on Disney+ Hotstar.
The South Indian Star – Swathi Kiranam
The actor has made multiple successful films in many languages (not just in the Malayalam film Industry). He became a certified star in other South Indian film industries with movies like ‘Thalapathi’ and ‘Azhagan’, but he became a South-Indian superstar with his Telugu debut, ‘Swathi Kiranam‘.
The film follows an old man who gets arrested for trespassing and possible thievery. The arresting police officer eventually finds out that the old man is a renowned musician. Check out the whole movie on Amazon Prime Video.
The Emotional Athyachari – Pathemari
Mammootty has given us many roles that have made us break down in tears, either in cinema halls or in our homes. The man has ridiculous range and the fact that he can continue to make us feel emotions is unreal. While his roles in ‘Rappakal’ and ‘Vatsalyam’ are tearjerkers, his 2015 released emotional drama, ‘Pathemari‘ has hit us the hardest so far.
We follow Narayanan in this movie. This young man goes to Dubai to make a living where he faces many struggles. He decides to weather the hardships for the sake of his family and their happiness. This movie can be streamed on Disney+ Hotstar.
The Funny Protagonist – Rajamanikyam
Like we said earlier, ridiculous range. This man can have us crying one minute and laughing in another. He has taken up multiple funny, scoundrel roles over the years but ‘Rajamanikyam‘ has had success like no other. Unlike most Mammootty movies at the time, where he plays dialogue delivering bad-asses – he plays a one-eyed almost-cartoonish man who manages to win audiences over with his brilliant dialogue delivery and slightly exaggerated accent.
The movie follows a cattle dealer, Bellary Raja, who is named the controller of all assets of Raja Rathnam Pillai, when the latter dies. As per the wishes of the deceased, he has been tasked with resolving the disputes between his two children and split the inheritance if they make up with each other. It can be viewed on MXPlayer.
The Dialogue Delivering Action King – The King
From the late 90s to the beginning of 2010s, we were treated to multiple dialogue delivering action films from nearly every Malayalam actor who was working at the time. While these movies aren’t as good as the films in the Golden Age (films released during the 1970s and 1980s) or the current revolution – they still kept people entertained. And Mammootty proved his proficiency in kicking ass and delivering bad-ass dialogues through many films, ‘The King’ in particular. The previously mentioned ‘Rajamanikyam’ also falls in this category as well.
‘The King‘ follows an IAS officer, Alex. He decides to expose a corrupt member of the parliament in front of the public after Alex finds out about his involvement in multiple crimes. This movie is streaming on Sun NXT.
The Historical Performer – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar
Mammootty has portrayed multiple historical figures in films like ‘Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja’, ‘Yugapurushan’ and ‘1921’. However, his best historical performance came in the year 2000 when he portrayed the titular character in the English-Hindi bilingual film, ‘Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar‘.
As the movie title suggests, the film follows Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, one of the biggest pioneers of Indian social reforms. The film documents his journey from a student in New York in the late 1910s to the battles he fought for his community when he returned to India.
However, unlike the other films on this list, this movie is currently not available for streaming in India. While we would have usually just put another movie under this category, we believe this is his best role in portraying a historical figure so far. So for that reason, this movie will remain on this list.
You can check out the aforementioned ‘Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja’ on Disney+ Hotstar. This Malayalam movie may not be as brilliant as ‘Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’, the movie is still quite good.
The Character Actor – Thaniyavarthanam
Mammootty has portrayed many brilliant characters over the years. But some have required more work than others. And you can actually notice it in brilliant films like ‘Aavanazhi’, ‘Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha’ and ‘Vidheyan’ (the last one deserves a special mention of its own) – the amount of work he has had to put in, be it to his physical appearance or slang and dialects. ‘Thaniyavarthanam‘ doesn’t require Mammootty to work on his physique or accent (at least, not anything difficult) – but it requires the actor to have a mental breakdown onscreen over a long period. While the scriptwriter and director need to be praised for their work, Mammootty’s portrayal is what made the film so great.
The film follows Balan, an educated man who lives a happy life with his family. However, many believe that there seems to be a curse upon Balan’s family, where one male from each generation goes mad. When his uncle, who has a cognitive disorder, dies, the villagers think that Balan will follow in his footsteps. This movie can be streamed on Eros Now.
Special Mention: Vidheyan
A heads up. This is another brilliant movie of Mammootty’s which is not available for streaming within the country (at least legally).
Still, this movie deserves a mention because of Mammootty’s brilliant performance. The actor has gone onto portray brilliant and versatile characters on screen, but ‘Vidheyan‘ shows us a side to Mammootty we rarely see – the portrayal of a villain. And not just any villain – he portrays one of the most distasteful characters onscreen – the type of villain you want to be killed in a “satisfying manner”, similar to characters like Jeoffrey Baratheon or Ramsey Bolton from ‘Game of Thrones’ and Arturo from ‘Money Heist’.
‘Vidheyan’ follows Thommy, a loyal and obedient slave of his aggressive, tyrannical master Bhaskara. He serves his master so faithfully that he goes to the extent of killing Bhaskara’s wife when he is ordered to do so.
While there are multiple Mammootty films that can fit in various other categories (showcasing his range), we decided to just stick with 7, in honour of his 70th birthday. The actor also appeared in multiple other brilliant films as well, but many are still unavailable for streaming in India. So for now, check out the above mentioned movies if you feel like celebrating the Malayalam actor’s birthday.