Mammootty born as Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail, he was later named Mammootty after his debut film- Anubhavangal Paalichakal in 1971. Always hungry to play great, unconventional characters onscreen, Mammootty has completed 5 decades in the Indian film industry. What makes Mammootty’s 3 National Awards special? One of many is for an English-Hindi bilingual film Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, which no other actor has managed to do in the Indian Cinema.
His major breakthrough came with the commercial success of movies like Aa Raathri & Sandhyakku Virinja Poovu. He has appeared in neighbouring industries as well. He entered the Tamil cinema through Mounam Sammadham (1990), in Telugu cinema through Swati Kiranam (1992), in Bollywood through Triyathri though his debut as a lead was in Dhartiputra (1993). He debuted in Kannada cinema through the bilingual film, Shikari (2012). He also acted in an Indian English film, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (2000).
He has won three National Film Awards for Best Actor, seven Kerala State Film Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South. In 1998, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri for his contributions to the arts. He has also received honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Kerala in January 2010 and from the University of Calicut in December 2010. Also is the chairman of Malayalam Communications, which runs the Malayalam television channels Kairali TV, Kairali News and Kairali WE TV. He is the goodwill ambassador of the Akshaya project, the first district-wide e-literacy project in India. Mammotty is the patron of the Pain and Palliative Care Society, a charitable organisation in Kerala writing to improve the quality of life among patients with advanced cancer.
The legendary actor is playing the character of CBI Officer Sethurama Iyer- a record, for the 5th time, over 35 years, in CBI – The BRAIN. The film which is due for release this summer only proves the actor’s dedication. He hasn’t aged at all but is getting better like fine wine!
His first film ‘Oru CBI Diarykurippu’ released in 1988, followed by Jagratha (1989), Sethurama Iyer CBI (2004), Nerariyan CBI (2005), and now CBI 5- The Brain(2022). What makes the feat even more commendable is the fact that Mammootty plays not just the same character but portrays the same age across all these films, something unheard of in cinema.
He inspires millions of actors, and young generations. And is rightly called Megastar, for a reason! He is not just reel but a real-life hero in many ways. Mammootty is still climbing the mountains, that grow only taller, and there is no stopping.
Not just Mammootty, but director K.Madhu, writer S.N.Swamy have also been permanent fixtures in all the 5 versions. S.N.Swamy, the man who actually created the character of the smart CBI officer 35 years ago, is equally stunned as us about Mammootty playing the same character with no change in him at all.
“It is unbelievable for even us when we see him on screen, I mean there is no difference between 1988 and now, one can’t even make out any difference if we compare pictures. It is like time has stood still. We have seen various actors play James Bond over these years, but this man goes on and on. His discipline, his lifestyle is inspirational”, he was quoted saying.
Produced by Swargachitra, CBI – The Brain comes after Mammootty’s Bheeshma Parvam, which was released recently, and his upcoming OTT Premiere debut in Puzhu.
