Mohanlal

21 May, 1960 | Pathanamthitta, Kerala

Actor/Singer/Producer

Biography

Mohanlal is an Indian film actor, singer and producer. His contributions to Indian cinema make him one of the biggest names in the Malayalam film industry and a versatile actor. Mohanlal made his debut in 1980 with the film 'Manjil Virainja Pookal'.  Personal Life and Education   Mohanlal was born in Elanthoor Pathanamthitta, Kerala, to Vishwanathan Nair, a lawyer and subsequently law secretary for the Government of Kerala, and Shanthakumari, a housewife. He was brought up in Trivandrum in his mother's house. He attended the Mudavanmukal LP school and later enrolled in the Model School, Trivandrum. For his bachelor's degree, he attended Mahatma Gandhi College in Trivandrum. Later, he got maried to Suchitra. .The couple has two children, Pranav Mohanlal and Vismaya Mohanlal. Like dad, Pranav is an actor, he made his debut in a lead role in the film  Aadhi (2018). Career Mohanlal's first film was Thiranottam (1978). The role of the antagonist in Manjil Virinja Pookkal gave him the breakthrough in 1980. In 1983, Mohanlal was credited in more than 25 feature films. In 1984, he expanded into comic roles with Priyadarshan's directorial debut, Poochakkoru Mookkuthi. In 1985, he recorded a song for the first time for the film Onnanam Kunnil. In 1986, Mohanlal worked with Sathyan Anthikad and won his first Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for his work in T. P. Balagopalan M.A. He then acted as an underworld don in the blockbuster film Rajavinte Makan. Mohanlal bacame popular among teenage moviegoers because of his roles in Priyadarshan's movies like Chithram and Kilukkam. Then he found success with the movie Thoovanathumbikal. He got a Special Jury Award for the movie Kireedam. Then he got the Best Actor National Award for the movie Bharatham in the following year. In the 1990s, he acted in movies such as His Highness Abdullah, Midhunam, and Minnaram. Devaasuram, written by Ranjith and directed by I. V. Sasi, was one of Mohanlal's most successful films. Movies like Aaram Thamburan, Narasimham, Ravanaprabhu and Naran are some which faced criticism for their lack of realism and emphasis on Mohanlal. Priyadarshan's Kala Pani and Lohithadas's Kanmadam were among his other notable films during the late 1990s. Mohanlal's firstTamil film was Iruvar, directed by Mani Ratnam which was a critical success and won many awards including Best Film Award at the Belgrade International Film Festival and two National Film Awards. He won his second National Award for Best Actor for the Indo-French movie Vaanaprastham. The film was also selected for the competitive section at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2000, the movie Narasimham became one of the highest grossing movies in the history of Malayalam cinema. For his first Bollywood movie Company (2002), he won the IIFA Star Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2005, he appeared in Rasathanthram, which was directed by Sathyan Anthikkad and later on in the same year, he won the Kerala State Award for his performance in the film Thanmathra. In 2007, Mohanlal won the Kerala State Award for Best Actor for his performance in the movie Paradesi. Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag was his second Bollywood movie released in the same year. Then came the Malayalam movie Hello, which became one of the biggest Malayalam hits of 2007. In 2009, Mohanlal appeared with Kamal Haasan in the Tamil movie Unnaipol Oruvan. His first film in 2010 was Evidam Swargamanu, directed by Roshan Andrews. The same year, he also appeared in Janakan, Alexander the Great, Shikkar and Kandahar. He also acted with Suresh Gopi, Dileep and Sarath Kumar in the movie Christian Brothers. Even though he doesn't have any theatre background, he debuted on the stage as Karna in Karnabharam, a Sanskrit play that premiered in New Delhi as a part of the National Theatre Festival. Kadhayattam was a presentation enacted by Mohanlal, depicting 10 unforgettable characters and situations selected from Malayalam literature. Chayamukhi is Mohanlal's latest play in which he performed the role of Bheeman. On the professional front, Mohanlal will be next seen in Shivakarthikeyan's 'SK23' , directed by AR Murugadoss. Mrunal Thakur will be seen in the lead role opposite Sivakarthikeyan while Vidyut Jamwal will also be seen in a strong role in this film. Anirudh Ravichander will be rendering tunes for this movie. Furthermore, Mohanlal is set to join forces with VA Shrikumar for an upcoming film. The director made this announcement through his Instagram account on January 12, 2024.