Happy Birthday Mammookka...

I felt this article was to be written 24 hours before. Because yesterday was the birthday of the legendary Indian actor Mammotty. With his career that spans more than three decades, he had acted in more than 300 films and is widely known as one half of the Malayalam film industry. He bagged National Awards for Best Actor three times, the most by anyone in the country, and that in two languages. He also got 6 state awards and 9 filmfare awards in his kitty.

Having started off his career in 1971, his first massive hit was 'Trishna' directed by I.V.Sasi in 1981. But his career witnessed a slump during late 80's, with his movies continuously bombing at boxoffice. But he made a stupendous comeback with a resounding success of 'New Delhi' in 1987. 'Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha' directed by Hariharan is considered as a milestone in his career, and he was awarded Best Actor Award. Mammooty played the role of a CBI officer Sethuramiyer in CBI series, which again was a massive hit.

He is known as the crowd puller in Malayalam cinema, and his latest films like Rajamanikyam and Annan Thampi groosed well in boxoffice, and broken all existing collection records. He had given equal importance to art and commercial films. He acted in Adoor Gopalakrishnan's 'Anantharam', 'Mathilikal' and 'Vidheyan'. His latest film 'Ore Kadal' directed by Shyam Prasad was greeted with great enthusiasm by critics as well as viewers. It got many awards in national and international venues.

Mammootty is known for his innovative mind, great personality and he made Kerala known internationally. He is now regarded as a promoter of newcomers. Blessy, Amal Neerad, Anwar Rasheed etc are only some of them. But he is widely criticized that he cannot handle comedy roles and is poor in dancing. But his recent comedy films like 'Mayavi', 'Thommanum Makalum', 'Rajamanikayam' and 'Annan Thampi' roared great success in boxoffice.

Mammootty has also been involved in several other projects that range from being the brand ambassador of Akshaya, the Information Technology project undertaken by the Government of Kerala, to being the Chairman of Malayalam Communications.

Belated Happy Birthday wishes Mammokka....Long live Ikka.....