Mohan (born 23 August 1956 as Mohan Rao) is a popular Kollywood actor. He hails from the Udupi district of Karnataka. He derived his name Kokila Mohan after debuting in a film called Kokila, which starred Kamal Haasan in the lead role.^[1][2] He considers Balu Mahendra as his mentor.^[3] He has acted in Kannada films, Telugu films and Malayalam films, but his main contribution was to Tamil cinema where he has acted in over 80 films.

Early life[link]

Mohan was born and brought up in ITI Colony, Bangalore. His father was a restaurateur who owned restaurants at various places in south Karnataka and in Bangalore. He completed his education in Bangalore.

Career[link]

From 1978 to 1987, the Mohan phenomenon swept the Tamil movie world off its feet and the hysteria he generated was unlike anything seen before and after. At one point, three films of Mohan’s were released on the same day, at the same theater complex all three ran for more than a hundred days and created a record which has never been broken by any actor to date. Mohan’s films were competing against his own films during his days.

Mohan’s entry into the field of acting was accidental. Mohan was introduced in to the world of theater by B. V. Karanth and trained by the likes of G. V. Iyer. Mohan was spotted by B. V. Karanth at a restaurant and asked to join the theater group. Mohan’s first stage play was praised by critics from places like Delhi. Mohan was introduced to the cinema by Balu Mahendra in his movie Kokila in 1977 alongside Tamil actor Kamal Haasan.^[4]

Kokila was a hit and Mohan was catapulted into the limelight, where he played a friend of Kamal Haasan, the hero; ever since then he has become one of the biggest-grossing box-office stars of the Tamil cinema industry. He is called the "Silver Jubilee Star" since almost all movies featuring him witnessed a fantastic run. He holds the record in the Tamil film industry for acting in more than 25 films which became Silver Jubilee hits.

After Kokila, Mohan starred in a Malayalam movie titled Mathalasa. Furthermore, immediately after the success of the Malayalam movie, Mohan went on to sign a Telugu film titled Thoorpu Velle Railu, which was a remake of the Tamil film Kizhakkae Pogum Rail. The Telugu version was directed by Bapu. After that Mohan was introduced in the Tamil film Nenjathai Killathey by director Mahendran. In 1980 he acted in dual roles for the first time in Gandar Golam which was directed by director Singeetham Srinivasa Rao.^[3]

Nenjathai Killaadhey marked the beginning of the peak of Mohan's career. Kilinjalgal by Durai ran for more than 25 weeks. Mohan’s sensational hit Payanagal Mudivathillai ran for 500 days. Most of the movies which Mohan starred in since then were either Silver Jubilee or ran for over 200 days.

Mohan became a major star through Payanangal Mudivathillai (1982) ^[4] The trio of Ilaiyaraaja, S. P. Balasubramanyam and Mohan created history in the Tamil music world with consistent hits.

At the peak of his career, Mohan took up challenging negative roles in films like Nooravadhu Naal (1984) and Vidhi (both were blockbusters in 1984). He also performed in comedies like Sahadevan Mahadevan and Rettai Vaal Kuruvi (likewise blockbusters). In fact, Mohan played the role of a wonderful lover and husband in Mouna Raagam^[5] and in Rettaival Kuruvi he portrayed a man who cheats his wife and ending up being with two wives.

Thereafter till 1987, it looked like he was steady. But there was more to him than just his mannerisms as he built an image of a gentle romantic. Mohan even portrayed negative characters in the movies Vithi, Nooravathu Naal, Nan Ungal Rasigan and December Pookal and those films were box-office hits as well. The audience accepted him as a hardcore romantic villain and also as a good comedian.

Payanangal Mudivathillai was perhaps his greatest ever performance as a singer and a man stricken with cancer. As he went from strength to strength, even his guest appearances in Sri Raghavendra (1985) alongside Rajinikanth and Nanpadum Padal generated more hysteria. Mohan has worked with top heroines of the day like Suhasini, Poornima, Radha, Amala, Radhika, Kushboo, Ambika, Revathi, Nalini, Nadiya, Jeyashree, Lizy and Archana.

He also created a record in 1984, when 19 of his films were released and most were hits.^[3] Mohan played a major role in the life of the production company Motherland Pictures.

Voice[link]

Despite becoming fluent in Tamil after acting in more films, his voice was usually dubbed by S. N. Surendar.^[6] He dubbed in his own voice for the first time in Paasa Paravaigal after the insistence of M. Karunanidhi, former chief minister of Tamil Nadu. From then on, he usually dubbed for his character and even spoke literary Tamil for Pasamazhai.^[3]

His 1986 Tamil film, Mouna Raagam won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.

Comeback ventures[link]

He attempted a comeback by producing, directing, and playing the lead role in Anbulla Kadhalukku. However, the movie flopped. He took a new avatar as the producer of tele-serials and managed to come out with a serial on the prominent Tamil satellite channel Sun TV. Mohan again played the hero after a hiatus of nine years in the moderate success film Sutta Pazham, a low-budget production.

Also in 2008, Mohan's Civic Cinema produced a Malayalam movie named Thalappavu, starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Lal, the debut directorial venture of popular actor Madhupal, based on the controversial and real-life confession of police constable Raveendran Pillai who gunned down the Naxalite leader Varghese on 18 February 1970, in the jungles of Wayanad in North Kerala.

Mohan made a comeback to Kannada film with Ghautham (2009), directed by Rajeev Prasad and starring Prem Kumar, Sara, and Ananth Nag. His Kannada film Asokavana is scheduled for an early 2011 release.

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

• 1982 - Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award for Payanangal Mudivathillai.^[3]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mohan (actor) at the Internet Movie Database