There is no doubt that Malayalam film actor Mammootty is a phenomenon who has been shining in the cinema for nearly fifty years. Apart from Malayalam, the actor shone as a hero with his acting skills in Tamil and Hindi languages. There is a film where Mammootty broke the hero and villain with inspiration from Hollywood. Let’s go to the back story of that film.
At a time when films inspired by Hollywood and others are not heard much, director GS Vijayan decided to make a film with a different theme Named ‘Charithram’ with the genius screenwriter SN Swamy. The difference in the theme means that the theme of that film was a method that was unheard of in the Malayalam film world till then. It should also be remembered that Mammootty’s film as a hero and a villain is not a double role in which one person is the hero and the other is the anti-hero. The filmmakers were very worried about the success or failure of the film, which was truly an experiment.
The film was released in 1983 in which Mammootty played the role of Philip Manavalan, a finance company boss, and actor Rahman played the role of Mammootty’s younger brother. Inspired by the Hollywood super movie ‘Chase A Crooked’, the film revolves around the death of Rahman’s protagonist Raju and the dramatic events that follow. This was GS Vijayan’s debut as an independent director. As it was an experimental film, there was no hope of success and Mammootty gave his career-best performance in the film. The film became a super hit by surprising the cast and crew with Mammootty’s acting excellence.
A film acted by Mammootty without any expectations that created history despite not being a box office success – the best film of his career
Sibi Malayil is the director who gave career best movies to Mammootty as well as Mohanlal. Maybe Sibi had done films with Mammootty before Mohanlal. Mammootty, Sibi Malayil, and Sathyan Anthikad’s Thaniyavarthanam was the best film of his career. Most of the films released in this partnership are excellent films that can be remembered forever. But even if some films are very good, they often do not achieve the desired commercial success, but that does not mean that such films are bad. Sagaram Sakshi was another excellent film when Mammootty and CB Malam teamed up. All of them are evergreen hits and remain in the minds of the audience even today.
Mammootty’s career was at a critical juncture when he used to perform ‘Manivathoorilae Aayiram Shivarathrikal’. It was a complicated time when Mammootty needed a super hit. ‘Manivathoorile Aayiram Shivarathrikal’, which was being prepared under the direction of Fazil, was a big hope for him. ‘Thaniyavarthanam’ is the film he did without much hope. ‘Balan mash’ in Thaniyavartanam is still the favorite character of Malayalees. The son of the screenwriter Lohitadas said that the character haunted his father till his death. As Mammootty did without expectations, he gave more important to the movie Manivathoorile Aayiram Shivarathrikal directed by Faasil. Therefore, he acted during the day for that film and at night for Thaniyavarthanam.
Just like Mammootty’s expectations, Fazil’s film was a huge hit at the theatres. But Taniyavartan was a failure at the box office. Taniyavartanam, released in 1987, has become one of the best classic films Malayalam has ever seen. Thaniyavarthanam is a highly acclaimed critically acclaimed film. Thilakan won the State Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film.
Thilakan, Mukesh, Kaviyu, Ponnamma, Asha Jayaram, Philomena etc. played central roles in the film. The film depicts the emotional scenes of Balanmash, the central character of the film, who suffers from the disease ‘Madness’ which is inherited in the family. Balan Mash is a character remembered fondly by Malayalees even today. Taniyavarthan and Balan Mash in it are still cited as the best films of Mammootty’s career.
