He has worked with several newcomers and starred in a variety of genres, but if there’s one guarantee in a Mammootty film, it is he himself- that he won’t leave the audience empty-handed. Now at 75, he has a line-up that is nothing but impressive. Mammootty is one of the best actors of Indian Cinema. Something about his performance always lingers.
Because the actor has time and again delivered deeply powerful performances in his decades-long career, this is a statement that have been often repeated and deservedly so,.
Mammootty’s Kodumon Potti in the 2024 Malayalam folk horror film Bramayugam , managed to send chills down my spine just by his twisted laughter. One such film is Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam, the 2022 release which was helmed by Lijo Jose Pellissery. It is a layered and deeply nuanced performance that deservedly won him the National Award.
I have never been scared of an actor’s teeth on screen. He is somewhat of a monster, hiding behind a polite facade. Mammootty is unforgettable in the littlest of mannerisms he includes in the character, completely transformative in his screen presence and tone. In recent years, Mammootty has been delivering some of his most exciting work as an actor. His choices always surprise, as Mammootty dares to experiment and take chances with characters out of their comfort zone. Mammootty is transfixing in this surreal burst of a film, so committed to every turn it takes to stranger and more delirious directions. Effortlessly shifting between the starkly contrasting personalities of James and Sundaram, the actor gives a sharply judged performance where he has to juggle between two linguistic and cultural backgrounds without making it apparent.
I am excited to see what Mammootty has cooked up with Adoor Gopalakrishnan again in Padayaatra. The director has inarguably extracted two of the best performances from Mammootty’s career. And although I love his performance as Basheer in Mathilukal, I am inclined to list his magnificient work in Vidheyan here. As the tyrannical landlord Patelar, Mammootty is a force of ungovernable fury and ruthlessness here. Even in just a glance or the way he sits on his chair, Mammootty is able to wield his dominance and his power. So much so, that even when the frame does not include him, the viewer is constantly reminded of his absence- as if he is silently lurking behind the screen, noting down every little action.
