Bramayugam to Thaniyavarthanam: 5 best roles of Mammootty's career as the actor turns 75

Mammootty is a masterful actor, transforming his body language and reinventing himself on screen with each new performance.

Mammootty is one of the best actors of Indian Cinema. This is a statement that have been often repeated and deservedly so, because the actor has time and again delivered deeply powerful performances in his decades-long career. Now at 75, he has a line-up that is nothing but impressive. He has worked with several newcomers and starred in a variety of genres, but if there's one guarantee in a Mammootty film, it is he himself- that he won't leave the audience empty-handed. Something about his performance always lingers.

Mammootty recently won his fourth National Award for his haunting performance in Bramayugam.

Bramayugam

I have never been scared of an actor's teeth on screen. Mammootty's Kodumon Potti in the 2024 Malayalam folk horror film Bramayugam, managed to send chills down my spine just by his twisted laughter. He is somewhat of a monster, hiding behind a polite facade. Mammootty is unforgettable in the littlest of mannerisms he includes in the character, completely transformative in his screen presence and tone. It is a layered and deeply nuanced performance that deservedly won him the National Award.

Mammootty in a still from Bramayugam, which fetched him the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor.

Thaniyavarthanam

Mammootty is devastating as a man cornered by his family, and society as a whole, in Sibi Malayil's Thaniyavarthanam. As Balan, Mammootty is able to capture the gradual decline of a respectable man who drowns himself in misery amid age old practices in a parochial ecosystem of superstition. His entire body slowly crumbles, and the scene where even his students go against him is heartbreaking to watch. Mammootty conveys the pain and the humiliation with incredible delicacy.

Vidheyan

I am excited to see what Mammootty has cooked up with Adoor Gopalakrishnan again in Padayaatra. The director has inarguably extracted two of the best performances from Mammootty's career. And although I love his performance as Basheer in Mathilukal, I am inclined to list his magnificient work in Vidheyan here. As the tyrannical landlord Patelar, Mammootty is a force of ungovernable fury and ruthlessness here. Even in just a glance or the way he sits on his chair, Mammootty is able to wield his dominance and his power. So much so, that even when the frame does not include him, the viewer is constantly reminded of his absence- as if he is silently lurking behind the screen, noting down every little action.

Bhoothakannadi

This psychological drama stars Mammootty as Vidyadharan, a timid clock repairer who slowly spirals into severe paranoia. He is scared of many things, and is constantly anxious- and Mammootty makes all of it heartstoppingly alive in his body language. In particular, the sequence where he breaks down in front of the police is etched in mind for the sheer helpless agony that Mammootty is able to conjure up with just his eyes. It is a haunting, unforgettable performance.

Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam

In recent years, Mammootty has been delivering some of his most exciting work as an actor. His choices always surprise, as Mammootty dares to experiment and take chances with characters out of their comfort zone. One such film is Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam, the 2022 release which was helmed by Lijo Jose Pellissery. Mammootty is transfixing in this surreal burst of a film, so committed to every turn it takes to stranger and more delirious directions. Effortlessly shifting between the starkly contrasting personalities of James and Sundaram, the actor gives a sharply judged performance where he has to juggle between two linguistic and cultural backgrounds without making it apparent.

Special mention: Ponthan Maada, Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha, Kazhcha, Pathemari