Muhammadkutty Ismail Panaparambil is our megastar Mammookka.
Born on Sept 7th 1951.
Star sign – Vishakham / Virgo
Father: Ismail
Mother: Fatima
Siblings: Ibrahim, Zakariah, Ameena, Sauda and Shafina
Wife: Sulfath
Daughter: Surumi
Son: Dulquer Salmaan
Mammootty was born and raised in Chempu near Vaikom in the Kottayam district. He took his Pre-Degree from Sacred Heart Colege, Thevara, Ernakulam and Bachelor of Arts from Maharajas Colege, Ernakulam. He also secured a LLB from Law Colege, Ernakulam and practiced law for two years in Manjeri.
It was during the days at Maharajah that he made his first screen appearance in 1971 for Anubhavangal Paalichakal, directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan. However his role was unaccredited. 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, directed by M. T. Vasudevan Nair.However, this film was never released.Vilkanundu Swapnangal, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and directed by M. Azad was Mammootty's first notable film. Later films like Mela by K.G. George where he played a Circus artist, and Thrishna, directed by I.V. Sasi got him noticed. His first super hit film as a hero was Thrishna, released in 1981.
From there Mammootty began to establish himself as an actor and as a star.
In 1981, he got his first state award in the Best Supporting Actor category for his performance in Ahimsa. 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.
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 Aalkkoottathil Thaniye and Adiyozhukkukal, scripted by M. T. Vasudevan Nair established him as an actor of substance.
In a period of five years from 1982 to 1986 Mammootty acted in more than 150 films in the lead role. 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.
But for a short while during mid 86, 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.
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.
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 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
Mammootty's performance in Mathilukal directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan was also considered for the award. His role as a hunter Varunni in Mrugaya, 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.
Mammootty crossed the boundaries of Malayalam cinema and acted in Tamil in 1989. He made his Tamil debut in Maunam Sammatham, directed by K. Madhu .
He made his foray into Hindi films through Thriyathri in [1989]. However, his maiden Bollywood film as hero, Dhartiputra went unnoticed.
He later acted in Tamil films with front-line directors of the industry like K. Balachander(Azhagan) and Mani Ratnam(Thalapathy). His performance along with Tamil Superstar Rajinikanth in Thalapathi made him a favorite among the Tamil audience followed by a string of interesting films in Tamil.
In 1992 he acted in telugu movie Swathi Kiranam in which he dubbed for himself.
During this time, Mammootty appeared in many of the films directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan's. He starred in three of his films, Anantharam (‘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 TV 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 the same year Mammootty had a surprise blockbuster in the form of R.k.selvamani directed Makkal Aatchi in Tamil.
In 1997, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for the movie Bhoothakannadi directed by Lohithadas.
After giving a big hit harikrishans with his co star mohanlal, Mammootty faced another decline in his career. But he kept the critic mouth shut through his third National award for best actor. Mammootty won his third National Film Award for Best Actor for Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar, an English language movie about the life of Ambedkar, directed by Jabbar Patel.
Mammootty started of the decade (2000) with Lohithadas's Arayannagalude Veedu. A critical and commercial success, it earned the Filmfare Best Actor Award for Mammootty. He portrayed Arackal Madhavanunni in Shaji Kailas's action thriller Valliettan, which turned to a hit film of the year.
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, was a boxoffice disaster. In 2002, he acted in only three films, none of which was successful and in 2003 he got to appear only in two films and among them chronic bachelor came out as a big hit.
The 2004 film, the third installment in the CBI series, Sethurama Iyer CBI marked his come back. In 2004, he won the state award for his portrayal of Operator Madhavan in Blessy's Kazhcha. Ranjith'sBlack and V. M. Vinu's Vesham were also successful ventures. Mammootty had six releases in 2005, including Anwar Rasheed's directorial debut Rajamanikyam. He portrayed Bellary Raja, a Thiruvananthapuram based cattle dealer, in the film which broke all the collection records.
In 2006, Mammootty continued his success with the film Thuruppugulan. The character Gulan became a rage among the kids and a cartoon series on the character 'super gulan' was started by a kid’s comic.
In the same year, Mammootty won the Filmfare Best Actor Award for the movie Karutha Pakshikal directed by Kamal. 2007 witnessed Mammootty's action comedy Mayavi becoming the biggest hit of the year .His portrayal of Dr.Nathan in Shyamaprasad's Ore Kadal (2007) and balachandran in kayyoppu was critically acclaimed and the film Big B turned to be a trend setter.
In 2008, Mammootty delivered another blockbuster Annan Thambi. The film released in 75 centres across the state and completed 50 days in 39 centres. And in year end his film, "Mayabazaar" broke the record for highest channel right .The record breaks his own record of 1.1 crores for the film Annan Thambi.He became the part of the film Twenty20 which had a cast of almost all Malayalam actors.
In October 2009, Pazhassi Raja, directed by Hariharan and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, was released.He also acted in the short film Puramkazhchakal (directed by Lal Jose) from Malayalam's first Portmanteau film Kerala Cafe. In 2009, he won his fifth state award for Best Actor for his performance in Ranjith's Paleri Manikyam. Two films he acted in – Kutty Srank andPazhassi Raja – bagged eight national awards.
Mammootty started of the decade (2010) with Pokkiri Raja, Pranchiyettan and the Saint, directed by Ranjith, and Best Actor. Pokkiri Raja went on to become the highest grossing film of the year with the trade pundits declaring it as a blockbuster success. Pranchiyettan and the Saint which has been touted as the beginning of a renaissance in Malayalam cinema, became the longest running Malayalam film of the last five years.
His latest releases are Sohan Seenulal's Doubles and Jayaraj's The Train (2011 film) ,Babu Janardhanan's 1993 Bombay, March 12 and Shafi’s Venicile vyapari .
He is currently working on films like, Abhay Simha's Kannada film Shikari, Shaji Kailas' The King and the Commissioner and Lal's Cobra .