From Peranbu to Bramayugam, Mammootty’s recent filmography is proof that legends can keep reinventing themselves, even post 70.
Key Points
- Mammootty was conferred with the Padma Bhushan this week, recognising his extensive and impactful career in Malayalam cinema.
- The superstar is currently experiencing a career renaissance, taking on challenging roles that defy commercial norms and push his artistic boundaries.
- His performances in films like Bheeshma Parvam, Rorschach, Unda, Kannur Squad and Puzhu showcase his versatility and subtle acting prowess.
So the great Mammootty is now Padma Bhushan Mammootty.
The legendary superstar of Malayalam cinema was conferred the nation’s third highest civilian honour by President Droupadi Murmu on June 23.
Though we have to say, the honour should have come his way quite a few years ago, considering the impressive and incredible body of work he has built over the decades.
While he has delivered winning performances throughout his career, enough to inspire countless lists, Mammootty — who was last seen on screen in the thriller Patriot — is presently going through a kind of renaissance as a performer, taking on roles that often defy commercial viability and instead look to challenge him as an artiste. Particularly in the post-pandemic era.
The result is a plethora of performances that rank among the finest in Indian cinema over the past decade, leaving fans, peers and the media in awe of how readily he embraces roles that someone of his superstar stature might reject at first glance for their sheer audacity.
Sreeju Sudhakaran chooses 10 of Mammootty’s best performances from the past 10 years and ranks them from great to the greatest.
10. Michealappan in Bheeshma Parvam (2022)
Mammootty plays the ‘Don Corleone’ of Mattancherry in Amal Neerad’s stylish gangster drama that blends The Godfather with the Mahabharata.
Of course, it is a role that feels smartly cast considering the superstar possesses a magnificent screen presence and incredible baritone to match, both put to terrific use here as he towers above everyone else even when he doesn’t need to say much.
Amal Neerad presents Michealappan in a manner that is both massy and classy, and Mammootty brings immense swag and charisma to the role, even if a certain portion demands his character lead the action from his bedside, much like the eponymous Bhishma from the Mahabharata.
9. Luke Antony in Rorschach (2022)
Nissam Basheer’s psychological thriller sees Mammootty play a possibly mentally affected NRI seeking vengeance against a family for what happened to his wife.
It is a grey-shaded role, since many of the character’s actions are morally questionable, and the actor successfully draws viewers into his mental space more through visual expressions than than through dialogues, reflecting the emotionally guarded nature of the character.
That said, despite a fab performance here, Mammootty remains the second-best actor in Rorschach because he is humbly upstaged by a terrific Bindu Panicker.
8. SI Manikandan in Unda (2019)
Mammootty has played quite a few cop roles across his career and yet, you can find various shades of how he portrays them. This list has a couple of such cop acts that underline what I am trying to say here.
Like, in Khalid Rahman’s Unda, he underplays the role of a policeman who is out of his depth in an unfamiliar land so effectively, that he feels the biggest underdog in his own team of underdogs. And he looks at ease (or rather, unease) in depicting a character that is mostly devoid of heroics, and is in fact, as much intimidated by his new posting as his subordinates, if not more.
Which is what makes his turnaround in the climax, a moment that divided some viewers, more effective as a massy scene than many of his recent commercial entertainers.
7. ASI George Martin in Kannur Squad (2023)
Mammootty once again plays the leader of a police unit, out to catch a couple of hardened criminals who have escaped after committing a gruesome crime.
Unlike the previous entry, this time, Mammootty brings more assured and determined persona to the character, yet restrained enough to give the performance a realistic edge.
While his ASI George Martin is certainly someone you should not mess with, he also manages to convincingly depict the vulnerability and frustration of an officer tasked with protecting his team while hunting the villains across unfamiliar and often uncooperative terrains.
6. Kuttan in Puzhu (2022)
I have often read that it is always a treat when Mammootty takes on grey-shaded roles, so it is natural that this list has four such entries.
Perhaps the most controversial among them is what he does in Puzhu.
The actor plays an upper-caste IPS officer who has ostracised his sister for marrying below her caste; a disturbed father who cannot see a distinction between protection and control when it comes to safeguarding his son.
Mammootty in Puzhu is like a volcano you know will erupt at any moment, fuelled by his bigoted and vitriolic nature, and it is that anticipation that creates tension throughout. And once the eruption comes in the climax, it shakes you up.
It is an immensely measured performance that explores the disturbing psyche of a man raised on caste pride and prejudice. Which is exactly why some factions were against the movie, though that anger itself can be seen as the effectiveness of Mammootty’s performance.
5. Mathew Devassy in Kaathal — The Core (2023)
Can any male superstar in Indian cinema take on the role of a closeted homosexual and deliver a performance this sensitive?
Well, Mammootty shows why he is cut from a different cloth compared to others in his league, taking on a challenging role that became a conversation starter among family audiences, especially given the taboo surrounding homosexuality.
Once again, the actor remains restrained, but it is in the smallest details that his performance shines, like him nonchalantly holding his wife’s purse while she is in the witness box.
His emotional breakdown in front of his father is among the most moving acting moments I have witnessed this decade, subtly performed yet deeply affecting.
4. SI Stanley Das in Kalamkaval (2026)
In the opening sequence itself, Mammootty demonstrates why he remains the best in the business as he effortlessly transitions from a smooth charmer to a ruthless killer.
Playing a character inspired by real-life serial killer Cyanide Mohan, he brings enough reprehensibility to the role while maintaining a calm and composed exterior that highlights the disturbing duality of the performance.
In fact, the superstar is so good playing the amoral, remorseless Stanley Das that even the film struggles to keep up with him.
3. James in Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam (2023)
Watch nothing else but Lijo Jose Pellissery’s surreal psychological dramedy if you want to truly study Mammootty’s brilliance in understated acting.
The actor plays a drama artiste who, during a bus trip home, wakes up from an afternoon nap and begins behaving like a stranger.
The nuanced manner in which he portrays two distinct personalities within the same film cannot be missed in a work that constantly focuses on his body language and its impact on the people around him.
As far as I can remember, there are only two notable closeup shots of the actor to show his switch between his personas, and Mammootty truly excels in portraying the perplexity of that psychological transformation.
2. Kodumon Potti in Bramayugam (2024)
This period horror fantasy sees Mammootty bring about a formidable, menacing performance as a demonic entity masquerading as a feudal lord.
His Kodumon Potti is repugnant, frightening, and intimidating. He is a human equivalent of a Venus fly trap, towering over the helplessness of the people trapped in the time-defying prison of his dilapidated mansion.
The superstar revels in these negative shades, creating a terrifying yet memorable performance in a well-directed horror masterpiece.
When he sinisterly utters ‘thanikku povaan anuvaadam illa (you do not have permission to leave)’, it is a nod to the viewer that you are caught in the mesmerising nature of Mammootty’s hypnotic act here. Unlike Potti’s victims, though, we do not mind staying there to marvel at that performance.
1. Amudhavan in Peranbu (2019)
It feels kind of ironic that while writing about the best performances of a Malayalam legend, I am choosing a Tamil film for the top spot.
But then Mammootty has always loved breaking conventions, as he proved in 1999 when he won the National Award for Best Actor for the bilingual Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.
In Ram’s moving drama, Mammootty plays a single father trying to figure out how to raise an autistic teenage daughter, who is coming to terms with her sexuality.
What could have easily become a melodramatic performance is instead delivered with nuance and beautiful restraint in the confident hands of Mammootty, who quite deserved a National Award for his work here.
In fact, the same can be said for several performances on this list. The fact that he keeps getting overlooked from time to time reflects more on the award selections than on the merit of his timeless performances.
Padma Bhushan is fine but get him his fourth National Award, please!
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
