Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair (born 21 May 1960),[1] better known as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, producer, and occasional singer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He has had a prolific career spanning four decades, during which he has acted in more than 300 films. In addition to Malayalam, he has also appeared in other regional Indian films.[3]
Mohanlal made his acting debut as a teenager in the Malayalam film Thiranottam in 1978, but the film did not release for 25-years due to censorship issues. His screen debut was in the 1980 romance film Manjil Virinja Pookkal, in which he played the villain.[4] In the following years he played antagonistic characters in several films and gradually rose to supporting roles. Towards the mid-1980s, he established himself as a leading actor. He gained stardom after starring in a series of commercially successful films in 1986; the crime drama Rajavinte Makan released in the year heightened his stardom. Mohanlal prefers to work in Malayalam films, but he has also appeared in some Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada films. Some of his notable non-Malayalam films include the Tamil political drama Iruvar (1997), the Hindi crime drama Company (2002), and the Telugu action film Janatha Garage (2016).[5][6]
Mohanlal has received five National Film Awards—two Best Actor, one each in Special Jury Mention and Special Jury Award, and an award for Best Feature Film (as producer), also nine each from Kerala State Film Awards and Filmfare Awards South and numerous other accolades. In 2001, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, for his contributions to Indian cinema.[7] In 2009, he became the first actor to be awarded the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army of India.[8][9] He received an honorary doctorate from Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit in 2010.
Mohanlal made his acting debut as a teenager in the Malayalam film Thiranottam in 1978, but the film did not release for 25-years due to censorship issues. His screen debut was in the 1980 romance film Manjil Virinja Pookkal, in which he played the villain.[4] In the following years he played antagonistic characters in several films and gradually rose to supporting roles. Towards the mid-1980s, he established himself as a leading actor. He gained stardom after starring in a series of commercially successful films in 1986; the crime drama Rajavinte Makan released in the year heightened his stardom. Mohanlal prefers to work in Malayalam films, but he has also appeared in some Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada films. Some of his notable non-Malayalam films include the Tamil political drama Iruvar (1997), the Hindi crime drama Company (2002), and the Telugu action film Janatha Garage (2016).[5][6]
Mohanlal has received five National Film Awards—two Best Actor, one each in Special Jury Mention and Special Jury Award, and an award for Best Feature Film (as producer), also nine each from Kerala State Film Awards and Filmfare Awards South and numerous other accolades. In 2001, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, for his contributions to Indian cinema.[7] In 2009, he became the first actor to be awarded the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army of India.[8][9] He received an honorary doctorate from Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit in 2010.
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Short film