Mammootty: Lesser known facts

South actor Mammootty needs no introduction. The superstar has been ruling the Malayalam film industry for over five decades. He still has that charm and has now become one of the most stylish actors of the industry. His life has been like an open book. But here are some lesser known facts about the superstar. Read on...

Lawyer by profession

Mammootty would have been a lawyer by profession. According to a report, the actor was once determined to take law as his career. After completing his LLB from Ernakulam Law College, he even practiced law for two years at Manjeri. But destiny had something else in store for him. Reportedly, he was first seen in the film 'Anubhavangal Paalichakal', wherein he was a part of a running crowd, his role was un-credited.

Mammootty is reportedly the only actor who had a stint in films of six different languages. He is basically a Malayalam actor who has acted in films of other languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, English and Kannada. The 15 Tamil films he did include 'Thalapathi' (1991), 'Kandukondain Kandukondain' (2000), 'Azhagan' (1991), 'Aanandham' (2001) and 'Vandae Maatharam' (2010). He acted in three Telugu films, viz, 'Swathi Kiranam' (1992), 'Surya Putrulu' (1997) and 'Railway Coolie' (1998). He even acted in few Hindi films like 'Triyathri' (1990), 'Dhartiputra' (1993) and 'Sau Jhooth Ek Sach' (2004). He acted in a Kannada film named 'Shikari' that released in the year 2012. His English film was titled 'Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar' and it released in the year 2000.

Mammootty is one of the record holding actors, who has received National Film Award quite a few times. In the year 1989, he received a National Award for Best Actor for films Mathilukal and 'Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha'. He won again in the year 1993 for the films 'Ponthan Mada' and 'Vidheyan'. In the year 1999, he won a National Film Award for Best Actor for the film 'Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar'. He has even won Kerala State Film Awards seven times. He has also won over thirteen Filmfare awards over the span of his career.

It was reported that Mammootty was initially reluctant to do the role of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in his biopic. He rejected the award winning role of Ambedkar initially. According to reports, Mammootty did not have any time to commit for this biopic. But later it was revealed by the director Jabbar Patel that the actor was hesitating to shave his moustache for this role.

After starting his career in the Malayalam film industry, Mammootty reportedly became the busiest actor of Mollywood. From the year 1983 to the year 1986, he acted in about 120 films. Reportedly, in the year 1983, 1984 and 1985, he acted in 34 films each; and in the year 1986, he acted in 35 films.

Mammootty turned TV producer for a serial 'Jwalayay' in the year 2000 which was aired for almost two years. The name of the production house was Megabytes. Reportedly, Mammootty also owns a distribution company named Mammootty Technotainment. He is also a Chairman of Malayalam Communications which runs several channels. Mammootty even owns the distribution company Playhouse Entertainments which distributed films like 'Chattambinadu' (2009), 'Ritu' (2009), 'Three Kings' (2011), Living Together (2011).

Actor Mammootty turned author with a collection of essays written from his experience over the years. The book is titled 'Kaazhchappadu' which means perspective. In an interview, when asked about his book, Mammootty said that he had a column every Friday in a newspaper based on his experiences. He further said that it was about his attitude, how he reacted to certain situations; and he also wrote about his philosophy behind every action.

'Nithya Haritha Nayakan' Prem Nazir has a record of double roles in over 39 films. This actor is closely followed by Mammootty who has acted in more than 15 film having double roles in them. In 'Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha', he even did a triple role.

Mammootty has been a professional volleyball player and has enjoyed the sport from his youth. He even desires that today’s youngsters should take up this sport, and he even promotes it very well. Mammootty is the brand ambassador of Kerala Volleyball League, that promotes young talented volleyball players.

Mammootty has a heart of gold and has always been involved in charity. He has been the goodwill ambassador of many charitable projects like Street India Movement. The project works towards helping street children by providing them with better lives. Mammootty is also a patron of the Pain and Palliative Care Society, an organisation in Kozhikode, Kerala. This organisation helps the cancer patients in rejuvenating their life.