The ELITE . Review on Five Best Actors of Malayalam Movies

The following list of five elite actors from the Malayalam film field is based on the analysis of different factors. These include the versatility, range, charisma, long-term survival, public acceptance, commercial value etc., weighing each factor accordingly. Even though I have made sincere efforts to be unbiased, I know everyone cannot agree with my views.

1 – MOHAN LAL

2 - SATHYAN

3 – JAGATHY SREEKUMAR

4 - THILAKAN

5 – NEDUMUDI VENU

I have little hesitation or confusion what-so-ever in picking the best actor of them all, MOHAN LAL. He is the living legend who needs no words of praise. Apart from the ability to perform virtually any role convincingly (often beyond any one's expectation) he strikes a fine balance between the main stream and parallel versions of cinema, satisfying both the critics as well as the common man. Be it drama, action, comedy or romance the subtility he delivers in acting has no comparison. His commitment to the profession is unmatched. MohanLal is said to have practiced Bharatanatyam for KAMALADALAM and learned the basics of Kathakali for VAANAPRASTHAM. Starting his career as early as 1978, he reached the top spot in 1986. In that year he appeared in 34 films, most of them turning out to be top grossers in the history of Malayalam cinema and cemented his place in the hearts of millions of film lovers. The fact that MohanLal is still retaining the crown for almost 20 years hence alone suffices to illuminate his greatness. I am not mentioning the awards that came his way, for personally I do not believe in the credibility of either state or national awards.

MohanLal has appeared in more than 270 films so far in Malayalam, along with a few Tamil (Mani Ratnam's IRUVAR, Nazar's POP CARN), Telugu (GANDHEEVA), Kannada (LOVE) and Hindi (Ram Gopal Verma's COMPANY) movies. Apart from being an actor he has produced some remarkable movies like KAALAPANI, HIS HIGHNESS ABDULLA, BHARATAM, KAMALADALAM, KANMADAM, VAANAPRASTHAM etc. MohanLal has attempted playback singing too in a few movies. It's next to impossible to shortlist his best movies, so I'm not venturing into it inorder to restrict my review from going endless.

SATHYAN comes second in my list. Strangely, I feel certain similarities in Sathyan and MohanLal. And I consider one as the 'continuation' of the other, if u can see what I mean. Sathyan was a genius of his time, in terms of performance. But he is more or less stereotyped as a rough man in many of his films. He was brilliant in romantic scenes and song sequences too. I would have sacrificed the worlds to see them both compete during the same era. Not many of the new generation have recognized and appreciated (and I doubt if they do, ever!) his calibre.

Sathyan made his debut as early as 1952. Before succumbing to blood cancer in 1970 he conquered the Malayalam filmdom with plenty of unforgettable characters. Sathyan was one of the rare actors who were able to overcome the artificiality of acting demanded by the movies in those times. That is why many of his performances have survived the times and are still admired. MOOLADHANAM, CHEMMEEN, VAZHVE MAAYAM, THACHOLI OTHENAN, ANUBHAVANGAL PAALICHAKAL, ODAYIL NINNU, KADAL PAALAM, CROSS BELT, SARASAYYA, DOCTOR, KARAKAANAKKADAL, TRIVENI etc are some of his greatest.

JAGATHY SREEKUMAR is widely known as the king of comedians, who plays the humour roles with conviction - be it slapstick, situational or satire. But I believe he is much much more than that. He has seldom got a chance to depict his talent to act in character roles, besides appearing in more than 1100 movies! Jagathy impresses every time he makes his presence, however poor the film is or how brief his role would be. MOONNAM PAKKAM, KARTHAVYAM, ATTAKKALASAM, APOORVAM CHILAR, THOVALAPPOOKKAL, KAALA VARKEY are some of his different roles, along with the countless comic roles. The MohanLal – Jagathy partnership has resulted in some highly entertaining sequences like in KILUKKAM, YODDHA, PINGAMI, MAZHA PEYYUNNU MADDHALAM KOTTUNNU, KAKKAKKUYIL etc.

THILAKAN, a veteran actor who acted in plays for years, engaged himself in movies from the early eighties onwards. He has excelled in a wide range of character roles, particularly in supporting roles. The grandfather in MOONNAM PAKKAM is one of his most excellent roles. The police constable Achuthan Nair in KIREEDOM and its sequel CHENKOL became so well-known. Thilakan is being typecast in many movies as the tough and strict family head after that. He has appeared only in a few comedy roles, like in MOOKKILLA RAJYATHU.

NEDUMUDI VENU is another gifted artist who has done almost every kind of roles in movies. He handles character roles and humour alike with ease. Venu has played the unconventional hero in quite a few movies, but his supporting roles are greater in number. He has a fine rhythm in his body language and sense of music, and it has enabled him to get into characters of musicians and artists easily. In fact Venu plays the mridangam well. He was the thampuran in HIS HIGHNESS ABDULLA, the hero’s jealous elder brother in BHARATHAM, the good-hearted psychiatrist in THALAVATTOM and the heroine’s uncle who ‘hires’ a husband for her in CHITRAM.

Malayalam cinema is gifted with numerous talented actors. I would like to mention the names of BHARAT GOPI, SANKARADI, ODUVIL UNNIKRISHNAN, MAMMOOTTY and SREENIVASAN also.