Mammootty
Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail, known professionally as Mammootty, is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. With a career spanning over five decades, he has appeared in over 400 films, predominantly in lead roles, across Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and English languages. He is the recipient of several accolades, including three National Film Awards, eleven Kerala State Film Awards, eleven Kerala Film Critics Awards and fifteen Filmfare Awards South. He received the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award, in 2026 for his contributions to cinema, and earlier the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award, from the Government of India in 1998. He was also honoured with the Kerala Prabha Award by the Government of Kerala in 2022. Mammootty was named as one of "the men who changed the face of the Indian Cinema" by CNN.
Mammootty made his screen debut as a junior artiste in the drama film Anubhavangal Paalichakal. He got his first credited role in M. T. Vasudevan Nair's Vilkkanundu Swapnangal. After playing a few supporting roles, he progressed to lead role in I. V. Sasi's romantic drama Thrishna. He continued to do secondary and lead roles in the following years. By the early to mid 1980's, he established himself a bankable leading actor by starring in several successful films in 1984 and 1985; the crime drama Athirathram, the action thriller Nirakkoottu and the romantic drama Yathra heightened his stardom. Mammootty predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, but has also appeared in other language films. Some of his best known non-Malayalam films include the Tamil gangster drama film Thalapathi, the Tamil romantic drama Kandukondain Kandukondain, the Telugu musical drama Swathi Kiranam and the English-Hindi bilingual biopic Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Mammootty has won three National Film Awards, seven Kerala State Film Awards, fourteen Filmfare Awards, eleven Kerala Film Critics Awards and five Asianet Film Awards. In 1998, the government of India honoured Mammootty with its fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri for his contribution to the Indian film industry. He was conferred with the Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Calicut and the University of Kerala in 2010. In 2022, he was the honoured with Kerala Prabha, the second-highest award given by the Government of Kerala.
Mammootty's life and career have been included in the undergraduate syllabus of Maharaja's College, Ernakulam's BA History programme, as part of the "History of Malayalam Cinema" course, in recognition of his significant contribution to the film industry. He is the chairman of Malayalam Communications, which runs the Malayalam television channels Kairali TV, Kairali News, and Kairali We. He is the owner of multiple production ventures, including the distribution-production banner, Playhouse, and production company, Mammootty Kampany. In 2007, Mammootty published his first book, Kazhchapadu, a compilation of short essays he had written in various publications over the years.
Early life and family
Mammootty was born on 7 September 1951 in Chandiroor. He was raised in the village of Chempu near Vaikom in Kottayam district in the present-day state of Kerala, India in a middle-class Muslim family. His father, Ismail, had a wholesale garment and rice business and was involved in rice cultivation. His mother, Fatima, was a housewife. He is their eldest son. He has two younger brothers, Ibrahimkutty and Zakariah, and three younger sisters, Ameena, Sauda and Shafina.He went to Government High School, Kulasekharamangalam, Kottayam for his primary education. In the 1960s, his father moved the family to Kochi, where he attended Government School Ernakulam. He did his pre-university course at Sacred Heart College, Thevara. He attended Maharaja's College, Ernakulam, for his degree. He graduated with an LL.B. from Government Law College, Ernakulam. He practised law for two years in Manjeri.
He married Sulfath Kuttyy in 1979 in an arranged marriage. The couple has a daughter Surumi, and a son Dulquer Salmaan —also an actor. He resides in Kochi with his family. His younger brother, Ibrahimkutty, has also acted in Malayalam films. His nephews, Maqbool Salmaan and Ashkar Saudan, are Malayalam film and television actors.
Film career
1971–1982: Early career
Mammootty made his onscreen debut as an extra in K. S. Sethumadhavan’s Anubhavangal Paalichakal at the age of 20. He made his second appearance in an uncredited role in the 1973 film Kaalachakram, directed by K. Narayanan. He was cast in a small role as a boatman. It was in this film that he said his first dialogue. In 1975, he acted in the theatre drama Sabarmathi. After his graduation from Maharaja's college in 1976, Mammootty began his practice as a lawyer in Manjeri. During this time, he met his mentor M. T. Vasudevan Nair, who cast him in a pivotal role in Devalokam. However, due to financial constraints and conflicts among cast and crew, the film stopped shooting halfway. As the film did not get a release Vasudevan Nair cast him in a minor role in Vilkkanundu Swapnangal, directed by Azad and scripted by Nair, his first credited role.During the filming of Vilkkanundu Swapnangal, Mammootty met and got closer to Sreenivasan. When K. G. George was looking for a newcomer with a “smart and handsome personality” as a daredevil motorcycle jumper for his film Mela, Sreenivasan suggested Mammooty's name while they were shooting at the Raymon circus at Ernakulam. Mela was the first Malayalam film to feature him in a prominent role. He was then cast in a supporting role in Vijayachithra Combines’ big budget action film Sphodanam, directed by P. G. Vishwambharan. He was credited as "Sajin" in the film as Vishwanbharan felt that the name "Mammootty" did not suit an actor. The same year, he made his first-ever appearance as a lead actor in the Malayalam film Thrishna, which won the Filmfare Award for Best Film. Later that year, he appeared in a supporting role in I. V. Sasi’s political film Ahimsa, which earned him the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor.
The next year, he starred alongside Bharath Gopy in K. G. George's epoch making Yavanika, as a police inspector who is on the search for an unpopular tabla player of a travelling drama group who suddenly disappears. Jijo Punnoose experimented Mammootty in a negative role in the epic period drama Padayottam. I. V. Sasi cast him in a pivotal role in John Jaffer Janardhanan, the Malayalam remake of Manmohan Desai’s Hindi film Amar Akbar Anthony. He was then cast in a major supporting role in Sasi's political drama Ee Nadu, which was a major commercial success, becoming the highest grossing South Indian film of the year. Mammootty played supporting roles in most of the films released during the year. He had 23 of his films released during the year.
1983–1986: Experimentation and breakthrough
In 1983, he started to transition into leading roles. Balu Kiriyath experimented with Mammootty by casting him as the lead in the comedy drama Visa, which was declared a hit at the box office. In his next film, Sandhyakku Virinja Poovu, directed by P. G. Vishwambaran, he played the role of a libertine lawyer who takes up the case of a female physician who is charged with medical negligence. The film became a major commercial success, running for 250 days in theatres. A critic of The Indian Express wrote, "Seema, as Dr. Bala gives a stand out performance, being particularly impressive in highly emotional sequences. She is matched in acting by Mammootty, who is advocate Jayamohan." In 2017, The Times of India described Mammootty's role as one of the "astounding advocate roles he has given life to". Sandhyakku Virinja Poovu is credited with solidifying Mammootty's status as a leading man. He then starred in Vishwambaran's Pinnilavu, a film about a fight of ethics between a father and son. A multi starrer, it was also a commercial success, running for 150 days in theatres. He then appeared in a supporting role in K. G. George's controversial classic Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback. In the film, Mammootty plays the role of a film superstar, a character modelled after Prem Nazir. On 15 May 1983, Sreedhar Pillai of India Today wrote, "Mammootty, the current rage of the Malayalam screen, successfully apes the mannerisms of fellow actor Prem Nazir in his Prem Sagar role."He then starred as an antihero in P. Padmarajan's classic Koodevide. In the film, he plays the role of a jealous and possessive lover of a boarding school teacher. The film was a major commercial success. Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express wrote, "Mammootty here adeptly navigated a range of emotions. But particularly impressive was his depiction of Thomas’ jealousy, triggered by Alice's close bond with one of her students, a mother-son-like one which Thomas misconstrues as romantic. Mammootty skillfully showcased Thomas’ descent into villainy, capturing his character's sinister demeanour and willingness to go the extra mile to win Alice's affection just for himself." His pairing with Suhasini was very successful and was continued in films like Ente Upasana. Koodevide was also selected for screening in that year's Indian Panorama. It also won the Kerala State Award for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value. He then collaborated with director Joshiy for the first time for Aa Raathri. Despite mixed critical response, it was a commercial success. It had a very successful soundtrack, credited with launching Ilaiyaraaja's Malayalam film career. Critics consider Aa Rathri to be a trendsetter. It is regarded to be the first of the Kutty Petty films, tear-jerker family-drama tragedy of the 1980s. Films of this genre typically featured a happy family in the beginning, with a well-placed husband-cum-father, a young mother and a girl child of the age of 3 or 4. In the end, the family gets into a whirlpool of relationship problems. Other notable releases of the year were supporting roles in Fazil's Eettillam and I. V. Sasi's political Iniyenkilum. Reviewing Iniyenkilum for India Today, Sreedhar Pillai wrote, "Mammootty easily outshines everyone else as the villainous politician."
In 1984, he starred as the smuggler Tharadas in I. V. Sasi's Athirathram. The film achieved considerable commercial success and the character of Tharadas gained a cult following among the youth. Mammootty, who was considered a bankable leading actor was propelled to superstardom with the success of the film. Owing to the popularity of the character, it was reprised by Mammootty in Balram vs Tharadas. He then starred in I. V. Sasi's Kanamarayathu, an adaptation of the 1912 novel Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster. In the film he plays the role of the sole successor of a rich business empire who falls for an orphan girl younger than him. Kanamarayathu explores the concept of relationships between couples with a large disparity in their ages, which challenged Indian social mores. Upon release the film received critical acclaim and became a commercial success. For his performance as Roy Varghese, Mammootty won his first Kerala Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor. The film has over the years accumulated a cult following and is now considered a classic in Malayalam cinema. He then starred as a police officer in Bharathan's Ithiri Poove Chuvannapoove. The film explores the relationship between a police officer and his younger brother, who becomes a Naxalite. It was a critical success and had a successful soundtrack.
He then appeared in a supporting role in the art house film, Akkare. In the film he portrays a non resident Malayali. The film is a satirical take on the obsession, especially of the middle class of other's lifestyle. He then starred as a vengeful fisherman back from prison in I. V. Sasi's Adiyozhukkukal. The film was a commercial and critical success. Mammootty won his first Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor and his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam for his performance as Karunan. Mammootty's performance in the film is often considered one of the best in his early career. The film was produced by Casino Productions, a production company owned by Century Kochumon, Mohanlal, I. V. Sasi, and Mammootty. He also starred in I. V. Sasi's Aalkkoottathil Thaniye, a box office hit. In 1988, film scholar Vasanthi Shankaranarayanan wrote, "Aalkkottathil Thaniye shows the changing image of woman in contemporary Malayalam cinema. From weak and enslaved to strong and independent." Aalkkottathil Thaniye, the screenplay was released as a book by DC Books in 2009. That year he also starred in several Kutty Petty films that received negative critical reviews but were successful at the box office, notable of which were Sandarbham, Koottinilamkili and Chakkarayumma. The former of which was a major box office hit, running for 150 days in theatres. It was one of the highest-grossing films of the year. The genre had now become synonymous with Mammootty, being renamed the Mammootty-Kutty-Petty film.
The following year, he starred in Padmarajan's Thinkalaazhcha Nalla Divasam, based on the radio drama Ammaykku Vendi by Sajini Pavithran, in which he plays the role of a man who wants to sell his ancestral house and put his mother in an old age home. The film explores the layers of family relationship in a rural setting threatened by urban culture and explains how the imminent breakdown of the joint family is prevented by a death. Upon release, the film was critically acclaimed, winning the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam that year. He then starred in I. V. Sasi's Anubandham, scripted by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, the film was released to widespread critical acclaim, winning four Kerala State Film Awards that year. He collaborated with Nair and Sasi once again that year with Karimbinpoovinakkare, in which he played the role of Shivan, who in a state of rage kills his best friend due to a misunderstanding and explores how he repents for his sin. The film was a commercial success.
He then, starred as Ravi Varma, a millionaire on death row for killing his wife in Joshiy's Nirakkoottu. The film was a major critical and commercial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing films of that year. The film won the Filmfare Award for Best Malayalam film. He then starred as a forest officer who is mistaken for a Naxalite, arrested and jailed for many years in Balu Mahendra's romantic drama Yathra. The film tells a fictional story but is built upon the human rights violations by the police and the prison authorities in India during the emergency of 1975–1977, when the fundamental rights of the citizens were suspended. It is an adaptation of the 1977 Japanese classic The Yellow Handkerchief. The film was released to widespread critical acclaim, winning the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value. It was declared a blockbuster, running for 200 days in theatres, becoming the highest grossing Malayalam film of the year. For his performance, Mammootty won the Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in Yathra, as well as a Special Jury Award for his performances in both Yathra and Nirakkoottu.
In 1986 alone, he acted in about 35 films, including a brief appearance in Mazha Peyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu. In 1986, he teamed up with I. V. Sasi for the film Aavanazhi, which was written by T. Damodaran. Mammootty appears in the lead role as Balram, a police officer. Both Inspector Balram and Balram vs. Tharadas are sequels to this film. The film was a huge hit at the box office. The film ran for over 200 days. The film was remade in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi.