Mammootty
Padmashri Dr. Mammootty
Born	Muhammad Kutty September 7, 1953 (1953-09-07) (age 55) Chempu, Vaikom, Kottayam, Kerala, India
Other name(s)	Mammookka, Mammoose
Occupation	film actor, producer, Media Chairman
Years active	1971-Present
Spouse(s)	Sulfath Mammootty
Filmfare Awards Best Actor 1984 Adiyozhukkukal 1985 Yathra, Nirakkoottu 1990 Mathilukal 1991 Amaram 1997 Bhoothakkannadi 2001 Arayannagalude Veedu 2004 Kaazhcha 2006 Karutha Pakshikal Filmfare Legend Award (2007) National Film Awards Best Actor 1990 Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, Mathilukal 1994 Vidheyan, Ponthan Mada 1999 Dr. Ambedkar Other awards State Best Supporting Actor 1981 Ahimsa State Special Award 1985 Yathra State Best Actor 1984 Adiyozhukkukal 1989 OVVG, Mrigaya, Mahayanam 1993 Vidheyan, Ponthan Mada, Valtsalyam 2004 Kaazhcha

Mammootty (born Pannaparambil Muhammad Kutty on September 7, 1953 ^[1]) is an award winning Indian film actor. During a career spanning more than quarter of a century, he has acted in more than 300 films as the lead actor in Malayalam movies, a distinction he shares with Prem Nazir.^[2] Mammootty is considered by many critics to be one of the finest actors in Indian cinema who excels in both art and commercial films.^[3]

Mammootty received many major awards for his performance. These include three National awards, four State awards and eight Filmfare Awards in the best actor category. He is the only actor apart from Kamal Haasan to win National Film Award for Best Actor three times. In 1998, the Government of India honored him with Padma Shri for his outstanding contributions to Indian cinema.

Mammootty is also the Chairman of Malayalam Communications, which runs popular Malayalam TV channels like Kairali TV, People TV and We TV.^[4] After a survey among its readers, Vanitha magazine selected Mammootty as the actor with the most sex appeal.^[5] Mammootty has promoted humanitarian causes throughout Kerala, and he is the Goodwill Ambassador of the Akshaya project

Family and early life

Mammooty was born in Chempu, near Vaikom in Kottayam, India in a middle class Muslim family to Ismail, an agriculturist, and Fatima, a housewife. Along with his siblings he grew up in Chempu, Vaikom. During his school life he was involved in sports and arts. He received his education from the Maharajas College, Kochi, and then studied law at Ernakulam Government Law College. He also practiced law for two years in Manjeri. He married Sulfath in 1980 and has a daughter, Surumi and a son, Dulquar Salman

Acting career

[edit] Early career, 1971-1980

Mammootty's first screen appearance was in 1971 in Anubhavangal Paalichakal, directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan. However his role was uncredited.^[7] He was a student at the Maharajas College then. In 1973, he got another role in Kalachakram, a Prem Nazir movie directed by K. Narayanan.

His professional film career began in 1979, when he played his first lead role in Devalokam,^[8] directed by vetaran M. T. Vasudevan Nair. However, this film was never released

Breakthrough, 1980s

Vilkanundu Swapnangal, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and directed by M. Azad was Mammootty's first notable film. His roles in films like Mela where he played a Circus artist, and Thrishna , directed by I.V. Sasi got him noticed. His first superhit film as a hero was Thrishna, released in 1981. After the success of Thrishna, Mammootty and I.V. Sasi together created many hits such as Aavanazhi and Inspector Balram.

The role of a police officer in the investigative thriller Yavanika (1982) directed by K. G. George cemented his position as a hero in Malayalam cinema. The film was a big commercial success and Mammootty's role got rave reviews for its style and dialogue delivery. This was the beginning of a trend whereby Mammootty would play the role of a tough cop in many action and investigative thrillers in the coming years.^[9]

In 1981, he got his first award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Ahimsa

New realms of stardom

The period 1982-1984 saw Mammootty evolve into a commercially viable hero in mainstream Malayalam cinema, Padmarajan’s Koodevide and Joshy’s Aa Raathri were highly successful in the box office. His performances in films like Aalkootathil Thaniye and Adiyozhukkukal, scripted by M.T.Vasudevan Nair established him as an actor of substance. Mammooty was noted for his controlled acting, never crossing the limits, and his presentation of M. T.’s dialogues, which were always pregnant with meaning.^[10].

In a period of five years from 1982 to 1986 Mammootty acted in more than 150 films as the hero.^[11] During this period, Mammooty managed the rare distinction of appearing as the hero in an astonishing 35 movies released in a single year, 1986.

His role as Karunan in Adiyozhukkukal directed by I.V. Sasi, written by M. T. got him the Best Actor State Award and Filmfare Award . Mammootty won the State special jury award and best actor Filmfare award for Yathra directed by Balu Mahendra. The film proved to be one of the best in Mammootty's career. In 1985, his role as Ravi Varma in Nirakkoottu, directed by Joshy, penned by Dennis Joseph got much acclaim and also created box office history

Career slump, mid 1980s

For a short while during mid 80's, Mammooty saw a decline in his career. Many of his films during this period saw him portraying very stereotypical roles as a familyman or a businessman

Regaining stardom, 1987

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.^[12] The film was loosely based on the novel, "The Almighty" by Irving Wallace.^[13] 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