This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2012)

Mammootty
Mammootty
Born	Muhammadkutty Ismail Panaparambil (1951-09-07) 7 September 1951 (age 60)[1] Chempu, India
Residence	Kochi, Kerala, India
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	Maharajas College, Ernakulam Government Law College, Ernakulam (L.L.B.)
Occupation	Film actor, producer
Years active	1979–present
Title	Padma Shri (1998) Honorary Doctorate from University of Kerala(2010) Honorary Doctorate from University of Calicut(2010)
Spouse	Sulfath (1981–present)[2]
Children	Surumi Dulquer Salmaan
Awards	National Best Actor (1989, 1993, 1998) State Best Actor (2009, 2004, 1993, 1989, 1984)
Website
www.mammootty.com

Mammootty (born Muhammadkutty Ismail Panaparambil on 7 September 1951^[1][3]) is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films,^[4] and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles in Indian films. He also appeared in the highest number of dual roles (nine) in Malayalam films.^[5]

Mammootty was awarded the National Film Award for Best Actor three times, a record shared with Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Hassan. He also won five Kerala State Film Awards, and eleven Filmfare Awards. He was the first (1998) Malayali actor to be honoured with the state honour Padma Shri for contributions toward Indian cinema.^[6] He was honoured a Doctor of Letters by University of Kerala in Jan 2010^[7] and by University of Calicut in Dec 2010.^[8] Vanitha, a leading women's magazine in Malayalam, in 2004, chose Mammootty as the actor with the highest sex appeal in Kerala, following a survey among its readers.^{[9][10][11][12]}

Mammootty is Chairman of Malayalam Communications, which runs Malayalam TV channels Kairali TV, People TV, and WE TV.^[13] Mammootty has promoted humanitarian causes throughout Kerala and is the goodwill ambassador of the Akshaya project.^[14]

Family and early life[link]

Mammootty was born and raised in Chempu near Vaikom in the Kottayam district of the state of Kerala, India in a middle class, Muslim family. He was the eldest son of the family. His father Ismail was a farmer and his mother Fatima was a housewife. His father shifted his family to Ernakulam in 1960s, his school life was at St. Albert s School and Government School Ernakulam. He did his Pre-University course (pre-degree) at Maharajas College, Kochi, and then graduated with a L.L.B. from Ernakulam Government Law College. He also practiced law for two years in Manjeri. He married Sulfath in 1980 and has a daughter, Surumi (b. 1982) and a son, Dulquer Salman (b. 1986).

Acting career[link]

Early career (1971–1980)[link]

Mammootty's debut was an uncredited appearance in the 1971 film Anubhavangal Paalichakal directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan, which starred Sathyan, Prem Nazir and Sheela in the lead roles.^[15] His only scene in the film was being one among a running crowd along with the lead actor Sathyan. Mammootty then was a student at the Maharajas College.^{[citation needed]}

His second film was Kaalachakram, a 1973 Malayalam film directed by K. Narayanan, and starring Prem Nazir and Jayabharathi. This was the first dialogued appearance of Mammootty, appearing only in one scene in the film. He acted under the screenname Sajin, but later dropped it.^[16]

His professional film career began in 1979, when he played his first lead role in Devalokam, directed by veteran M. T. Vasudevan Nair. However, this film was never completed.^[2][17]

Mammootty with Ramachandra Babu, who served as cinematographer in his debut film and actor Saiju Kurup.

His next film was the 1980 film, Vilkkanundu Swapnangal, directed by Azad, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, and starring Sukumaran in the lead role.^[18] The film featured Mammootty, as an antagonist in a supporting role. Voice for Mammootty in this film was dubbed by Sreenivasan.^{[citation needed]}

Mammootty's first full length character was in the 1980 film Mela which was written and directed by K. G. George and starring Raghu and Anjali Naidu as other lead actors. Mammootty played the antagonist in this film.^{[citation needed]}

1980–1983[link]

Mammootty began to establish himself as a recognised actor through his films of the 1980s viz Sphodanam (directed by P. G. Viswambharan), Thrishna (directed by I.V. Sasi), etc.^[19][20] In 1981, he got his first state award in the Best Supporting Actor category for his performance in Ahimsa.^[21] His performances in films like Aalkkoottathil Thaniye and Adiyozhukkukal, scripted by M. T. Vasudevan Nair established him as a leading actor of Malayalam film industry.^[22] The role of a police officer in the investigative thriller Yavanika (1982) directed by K. G. George was highly noted. The film was a big commercial success and Mammootty's role got positive reviews for its style and dialogue delivery.^{[citation needed]}

1984–1993[link]

In a period of five years from 1982 to 1986 Mammootty acted in more than 150 films in the lead role.^[18] In 1986 alone, he acted in about 35 films in the lead role.^[17]

The mid 80s saw a period of tear-busting stories in Malayalam film. Most of the films were tragedies. This period featured what later came to be referred to as the 'Mammootty-Kutty-Petty' films. These films had Mammootty as the protagonist, a husband and a father, with a 3–4 year old daughter, and employed in a top ranking post in a company. Mammootty made a comeback with New Delhi and Thaniyavarthanam, both released in 1987. New Delhi was a very important movie in his life as an actor. The film was loosely based on the novel, "The Almighty" by Irving Wallace. His portrayal of a victimized journalist, who systematically took revenge on politicians who flattered him, was noticed and well accepted by the masses. Meanwhile, his role as Balan mash in Thaniyavarthanam, written by Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil, was critically acclaimed.

In 1988 Mammootty delivered one of the biggest hits in the history of Malayalam Cinema with his Oru CBI Diary Kurippu. Oru CBI Diary Kurippu went on to create box-office history in Kerala as well as in Tamil Nadu. Mammootty's role as a CBI officer in this film got him critical acclaim. Following the success of the first CBI film Oru CBI Diary Kurippu, three more murder mystery sequels were produced with the same cast of characters: Jagratha (1989), Sethurama Iyer CBI (2004) and Nerariyan CBI (2005), all directed by K. Madhu, penned by S. N. Swamy with Mammootty as Sethurama Iyer, an intelligent but unassuming CBI officer. The films by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and Padmarajan, arguably among the best of Malayalam writer-directors, widened Mammootty's acting horizon. Two of M.T. Vasudevan Nair's films with autobiographical elements were acted by Mammootty. One was Aksharangal directed by I. V. Sasi and the other was Sukrutham directed by Harikumar.

Mammootty touched the pinnacle of his career in Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha; the film was directed by T. Hariharan and penned by M.T.Vasudevan Nair. His depiction of a Chekavar (mercenary warrior) of distinguished valor but vilified by circumstances won him the National Film Award for Best Actor. Along with the huge commercial success of the film, Mammooty was given rave reviews about his lead role in the film, which required heavy physical and psychological preparations. His role as a hunter Varunni in Mrigaya, directed by I.V. Sasi, and another film Mahayanam, was also scanned for the State Award. Mammootty won the Filmfare award for Amaram directed by Bharathan. He played the role of an uneducated fisherman who dreams of making his only daughter a doctor.

During this time, Mammootty appeared in many of the films directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan's. He starred in three of his films, Anantaram ('Thenceforth'), Mathilukal ('Walls') and Vidheyan ('The Servile'). His portrayal of the protagonist in Mathilukal (based on 'Mathilukal', a novel by the ace Malayalam novelist Vaikom Muhammad Basheer) was instrumental in getting him his first National Film Award for Best Actor. Mammootty also portrayed the roles in Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Vidheyan and T V Chandran's Ponthan Mada. He received the National Film Award for Best Actor and State Award for his roles in both films. His performance in Valtsalyam directed by Cochin Haneefa was also considered for the State Award. The King, scripted by Renji Panikkar, was released in 1995 and was directed by Shaji Kailas. Mammootty played the central character as a District collector and it turned out to be the biggest hit of the year.

In 1997, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for the movie Bhoothakannadi directed by Lohithadas.

In 1999, Mammootty won his third national award for Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar, an English language movie about the life of Ambedkar, directed by Jabbar Patel.^[23] The film was sponsored by the National Film Development Corporation of India and the Ministry of Social Justice. The film was released after a long and controversial gestation period.

1994 to 2000[link]

By the end of 1990s he acted on films such as Priyadarshan's Megham and Fazil's Harikrishnans in which he co-starred with actor Mohanlal. Due to immense popularity of both the actors, Fazil was forced to use multiple climaxes for the first time in India in Harikrishnans.^[24]

Mammootty started of the decade (2000) with Lohithadas's Arayannagalude Veedu. A critical and commercial success, it earned the Filmfare Best Malayalam Actor Award for Mammootty.^[25] He portrayed Arackal Madhavanunni in Shaji Kailas's action thriller Valliettan, which was one of the highest grossing films of the year.^[26]

2001–2003[link]

The period 2001–2003 was of a big setback for Mammootty. In 2001 he acted only in two films one of which, the much hyped Dubai one of the most expensive films ever made in Malayalam,^[27] was a boxoffice disaster.^{[citation needed]} In 2002, he acted in only three films, none of which was successful. And in 2003 he got to appear only in two films, again without commercial success.^{[citation needed]}

2004–present[link]

Mammootty in December 2008