Why is Mammootty special? Mohanlal's touching note on former's 70th birthday

“Ichakka was born to become an actor through his hard work and dedication…I haven’t seen another actor who has moulded his life in such an amazing fashion,” wrote superstar Mohanlal in a long, heartfelt note about his life-long contemporary in Malayalam cinema, who had ruled the industry for nearly five decades.

Mohanlal, who is shooting for Jeethu Joseph’s ’12th Man’, took time to write an emotional note expressing his deep-seated love and admiration for Mammootty on the occasion of the latter’s 70th birthday.

Unlike Mohanlal, who had “unknowingly’ landed in movies and became an actor through friendships, Mammootty had worked hard every moment of his life, said Mohanlal. Mammooty is someone who lives by watching and learning movies and has the same attitude he had fifty years ago, he wrote on Manorama Online, adding that he is still totally in awe of the life and acting skills of Mammootty.

“It is not a trivial matter to stay successful in the art field for half a century,” wrote Mohanlal. He also praises him for not just building a fabulous career but for being a family man and always finding time for his family in his busy schedule. That was the only compromise he apparently made with his work.

Mammootty has passed on his values of love to his family. That is the reason when actor Dulquer Salman wrote a congratulatory note on reading Mohanlal’s daughter’s book, he had signed off the note as “Your beloved Chalu Chettan”.

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“MamookKa has passed on the essence of his love to his kids as well; and that is what made Dulquer express his love as if to his own little sister,” he said, adding that there can be no greater happiness than seeing the close bond between his son Pranav and Dulquer.

Both actors who have ruled Malayalam cinema for more than four decades and with nearly 800 films (both actors together) to their credit, were always good friends, said Mohanlal. In the early days of their career when they were practically “kids” in the film  industry, they used to meet often when they lived in Chennai. He narrated that he used to be scared to go in the car when Mammootty was driving.

Then they “grew up” and went their separate ways. While Mammootty settled down in Kochi, Mohanlal was shuttling between Chennai and Thiruvanthapuram and they met less often. “But it doesn’t mean that we had grown apart,” he wrote. But it was more that they did not know what was happening in each other’s lives on a daily basis. They would however talk about each other’s latest projects when they did catch up with each other over a call, said the Manorama Online report.

The same would happen to brothers growing up in the same house, observed Mohanlal, who considers Mammootty as his big brother. “It is not a small thing that you feel a sense of security when you are in the presence of a big brother,” he says. Though Mammootty is not the type of person to keep you close, he gives him love even from a distance, said Mohanlal, adding that he feels the same sort of courage and security a little kid brother would feel walking to school in the company of his elder brother.

Mohanlal claims that he learnt discipline and dedication from Mammootty. He admired the way Mammooty never overate, unlike Mohanlal who would eat a lot if someone he loved forced him to do so. They have never however talked to each other about their movies whether they were good or bad. “But he would tell his opinions to our friends so that they would let me know,” wrote Mohanlal on Manorama Online.

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According to Mohanlal, Mammooty had always behaved the same with him despite the ups and downs in his own life. Mammootty was an emotional person who easily became sad or angry. But he never held hatred in his gentle heart and he would calm down after an outburst, wrote the senior actor.

Recalling the early days of their career, Mohanlal said that life was different then and it would be difficult for them to visit Kerala even once a month. Their schedules used to be packed.

Mohanlal concluded his note by saying that Ichakka (as he fondly calls Mammootty) said that his biggest hit is his family. And that Mohanlal and his family were lucky to enjoy Ichakka’s incredible love and care. Like his younger brother, he wished to enjoy his love even if they were far away from each other.

He then went on to reiterate that for Ichakka his destiny is to be an actor always while his fate was unknown. “My Ichakka would be an artist today, tomorrow and for the rest of his life too,” he concluded on that note.