Stepping in as a villain, Mohan Lal, with his
immense and versatile talents, is the reigning super
star of Malayalam cinema. Mohan Lal, who has been around
for nearly two decades now, made his debut in Fazil'z Manjil Virinja Pookkal. While
in college,
he teamed up with his friends to establish a company called Bharath Cine Group
and began shooting his first film titled Thiranottam, in which he played the
role of a mentally retarded servant but the film ran into trouble with the
Censor Board and was never released.
Mohan Lal's major break came in 1986 with the all-time
hit 'Rajavinte Makan' and the same year he married Suchitra, daughter of a
former actor of Tamil
films, Balaji. The comic hero came into full blossom in
typical Priyadarshan films
like Chitram , Minnaram, Kilukkam etc. Equally stunning was his timing and
down-to-earth dialogue delivery. He touched newer heights in his career with his
splendid performance in Krieedam, Bharatam, Sadayam etc.
Throughout his career he has been through a lot of ups
and downs but every time he came back with extra perseverance and won his way
through people's hearts with wonderful performances in his films. One striking
aspect of Mohanlal as an actor is his versatility. He has shown flair for both
sentimental and comedic roles, and has now appeared in over 250 films.
Mohanlal established Pranavam Arts
to be able to produce the kind of films he had an intense desire to create. And
'Life is Beautiful' is the least we can say to describe some of his creations.
His film 'Kaalapani', released in 1995, won 5 National and 7 State Awards.
Another splendid creation, 'Vaanaprastham', released in 1999 won the National
Award for Best Film.
In recent years, he has concentrated on working on one film at a time to
devote more to quality. In his own words, he's more concerned about whether the
script is a good one or not rather than whether the movie
will be a big hit or not. A gentle human, he'd do films for friends regardless
of the kind of project and the monetary returns. His jovial behaviour with cast
and crew has endeared him to one and all.