Mohanlal is an Indian actor, producer, distributor, host, and playback singer who has starred in mainstream blockbuster and art-house films.[1] He has made over 360 appearances in feature films during the span of his career, primarily in Malayalam cinema and also in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada films.[2]
Mohanlal began acting at the age of 18 in a brief role in the then-unreleased film Thiranottam (1978), released a quarter century later. He made his cinematic debut in 1980 as an antagonist in the romantic thriller Manjil Virinja Pookkal.[3] His portrayal of Narendran, a sadistic husband, garnered him recognition and the film developed a cult status.[4][5] He was thereafter cast in several films as villainous characters. Padayottam (1982), the first Malayalam film shot on 70 mm film featured him in his first protagonistic role.[4] The family drama Aattakalasam established him as a leading actor in Malayalam cinema.[6] In 1984 he starred in the screwball comedy Poochakkoru Mookkuthi, whose success generated a trend and popularised the genre in the 1980s.[7][8] He played an antihero in Uyarangalil (1984), directed by I. V. Sasi receiving critical acclaim for his performance.[9] In the same year, he co-founded Casino Films,[a] a motion picture production company that later produced his comedy films Gandhinagar 2nd Street (1986) and Nadodikkattu (1987).[10]
His first song as a playback singer was "Sindhoora Megham" for Onnanam Kunnil Oradi Kunnil (1985).[7] He starred in 34 films in 1986.[2] His portrayal of T.P. Balagopalan, a lower-scale employee in the comedy-drama T. P. Balagopalan M.A. (1986) earned him the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor becoming the youngest recipient at the age of 26,[7] a record he held until 2006.[11] The same year he co-founded Cheers Films, his second production company.[b] Mohanlal's stardom catapulted with the success of the crime drama Rajavinte Makan (1986).[13] In Irupatham Noottandu (1987), he portrayed mobster Sagar Alias Jacky and has become a cult figure since its release.[14] His tragicomedy Chithram (1988) held the record for the longest continuous run at 58 weeks.[15] In 1989, his performance in Kireedam earned him a Special Jury Mention at the 37th National Film Awards.[16]
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