Mohanlal tribute: Ten of the best from an Indian great

IN TERMS of his impressive body of work and impact, Mohanlal is ranked as one of the finest Indian actors of all-time and has won many awards for his acclaimed performances.

The south Indian superstar turns a year old­er on May 21 and celebrates his 58th birthday. Eastern Eye thought it was a perfect opportuni­ty to go back through time to list 10 of his most memorable award-winning turns...

Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam (1986): A big turning point for the actor was in 1986 when he won his first major Best Actor honour (Kerala State Film Award) for T. P. Balagopalan M. A. and his first Filmfare South Award for Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam. The Ma­layalam-language comedy drama revolves around a debt-ridden man trying to evict ten­ants from a property he owns. Various produc­ers remade the hit film in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada languages.

Kireedam (1989): Mohanlal won his first Na­tional Award for playing a young man with high hopes who is dragged into the dark side when he tries to do the right thing. His agonising por­trayal of the misunderstood youth resonated with an entire generation. The movie would later go on to be remade in Telugu, Hindi, Ta­mil and Kannada.

Bharatham (1991): The Malayalam musical won a number of honours, including three Na­tional Awards. The musically-rich drama revolves around a talented singer who reluctantly comes out of the shadow of an alcoholic elder brother, who is his guru and role model. Mohan­lal’s winning turn was once ranked in the top 20 performances in Indian cinema and earned him his first National Award for Best Actor.

Kaalapani (1996): Mohanlal produced and starred in this underrated 1915-set drama. He plays a man wrongly convicted of a crime and sent to a prison island, where he sees the inhu­mane treatment of inmates including those fighting for freedom from the British. The deeply-affecting drama also had a heart break­ing love story of a wife waiting decades for her husband to return.

Iruvar (1997): The Tamil lan­guage drama directed by Mani Ratnam marked the debut of Aishwarya Rai, but is best re­membered for Mohanlal’s amazing performance. He portrays a man who goes from aspiring actor to su­perstar to becoming a powerful politician. The actor won a Filmfare South Best Actor award.

Vanaprastham – The Last Dance (1999): The Malayalam lan­guage drama saw Mohanlal win hon­ours including Na­tional, Filmfare and Kerala State Best Actor tro­phies. He plays a talented dancer from a lower caste who is judged by so­ciety and rejected by his father. The highly rat­ed dance film received international acclaim and a National Award for Best Film.

Company (2002): The south Indian superstar had a rare foray into Bollywood with this su­perb gangster drama opposite Ajay Devgn and Vivek Oberoi. He won a number of awards for his portrayal of a dedicated police officer who takes down the mafia, which included an IIFA and Star Screen Best Supporting Actor prize.

Thanmathra (2005): The National Award-win­ning film earned the actor multiple Best Actor trophies, including at the Kerala State and Filmfare South ceremonies. He plays a family man who sees his simple but perfect world slowly crumble after he develops Alzheimer’s disease. The neatly-crafted drama also looks at the affects on his loving family.

Paradesi (2007): The powerful Malayalam dra­ma set across nearly 50 years earned Mohanlal a number of Best Actor prizes, including at the Filmfare and Kerala State Film awards. He goes through a remarkable transformation in his portrayal of an Indian Muslim who lands up in Karachi pre-partition in search of work and then struggles to get acceptance when he moves to Kerala after partition, with many wrongly accusing him of being a Pakistani spy.

Drishyam (2013): The actor won relatively mi­nor Best Actor awards for this super-hit Malay­alam drama and only gained nominations at the major ceremonies, but it definitely deserves a mention. He plays a devoted man trying to save his family after his wife and daughter accidently mur­der a black­mailer. The movie was remade in five other languages, including a Bollywood version star­ring Ajay Devgn.