MohanLal, is the best and the most under rated actor in India today . I can quite confidently say that he is the best acting talent that I have seen in India. This I say keeping in mind the other great actors of our times, Kamal Hassan included.
MohanLal’s entrance in to Malayalam cinema was at a time when acting in most of the film industries was overtly dramatic. Malayalam had in itself its greatest superstar then Prem Nazir, who was quite dramatic in his acting. MohanLal’s entry into the Malayalam Film Industry also coincided with the entry of a new crop of directors, In whose association MohanLal would scale the heights that he so self assuringly has.
MohanLal’s entrance in to Malayalam cinema was at a time when acting in most of the film industries was overtly dramatic. Malayalam had in itself its greatest superstar then Prem Nazir, who was quite dramatic in his acting. MohanLal’s entry into the Malayalam Film Industry also coincided with the entry of a new crop of directors, In whose association MohanLal would scale the heights that he so self assuringly has.
MohanLal intro into films was as a villain, who stole the spot light in Manjil Virinja Pookal (although this wasn’t his first film technically). He was noticed and destined for greater things from there. Later films like Gandhinagar Second Street, Chitram, T P Balagopalam MA, Nadodi Katte and a few more were the films that gave him the image we all have so much come to love. His simplistic, natural acting and his naïve attitude in these movies endeared him to the family audiences. He could draw crowds now and was well on the way to being a Superstar.
Superstardom finally arrived with the movie Rajavinte Makan, where he got moulded into the action hero image and was branded as an actor who had the range to justify any kind of a role given to him. Along with this movie Kireedam(one of his best performances) established his acting potential, a special mention from the national award jury was only a precursory for the greater things to come. This character which portrayed how circumstances and society can make a criminal out of an innocent lad, was justified to the hilt, especially the vulnerability and the helplessness portrayed is simply unbelievable.
What followed were movie which would take him to the next level both as a Superstar and as an actor. Movies like Ulladakkam, Yodha, Manichitra thazhu, Devasuram, Chenkol, Aaram Thamburan, Kaala Pani, Narasimham, Vanaprastham(for which he got his Second National Award), and more recently Thanmatra(which I am confident, will fetch him his Third).
The greatness in MohanLal the actor lies in the fact that he requires the minimum effort in conveying the true emotions of that character subtly and powerfully directly into the heart of the audiences. As many have said about him, when he is on the screen, he makes the audience connect to the character on screen rather than the actor himself, he lives the character, it’s every emotion, acting and more importantly reacting to his environments.
Many a scene where other actors could have played it over the top, just to convey the depth of the emotion to the audience( I hint to Kamal here.. cause he is the only other actor who could match up). MohanLal would underplay it. Sometimes when an emotion is overplayed it get surreal and audience fails to connect. I would also like to clarify her that I am the greatest fan of Kamal. He is definetly the most complete actor/performer in Indian cinema. But on sheer acting ability MohanLal would score more. I am sure people who have observed both would agree.
Tragedy lies in the fact that Malayalam cinema has very few audiences outside of Kerala, due to its linguistic constraints. I do believe the World as a whole has been deprived of truly appreciating the actor that is Lal.
What followed were movie which would take him to the next level both as a Superstar and as an actor. Movies like Ulladakkam, Yodha, Manichitra thazhu, Devasuram, Chenkol, Aaram Thamburan, Kaala Pani, Narasimham, Vanaprastham(for which he got his Second National Award), and more recently Thanmatra(which I am confident, will fetch him his Third).
The greatness in MohanLal the actor lies in the fact that he requires the minimum effort in conveying the true emotions of that character subtly and powerfully directly into the heart of the audiences. As many have said about him, when he is on the screen, he makes the audience connect to the character on screen rather than the actor himself, he lives the character, it’s every emotion, acting and more importantly reacting to his environments.Many a scene where other actors could have played it over the top, just to convey the depth of the emotion to the audience( I hint to Kamal here.. cause he is the only other actor who could match up). MohanLal would underplay it. Sometimes when an emotion is overplayed it get surreal and audience fails to connect. I would also like to clarify her that I am the greatest fan of Kamal. He is definetly the most complete actor/performer in Indian cinema. But on sheer acting ability MohanLal would score more. I am sure people who have observed both would agree.
Tragedy lies in the fact that Malayalam cinema has very few audiences outside of Kerala, due to its linguistic constraints. I do believe the World as a whole has been deprived of truly appreciating the actor that is Lal.
Accolades also needs to be given to the directors who moulded him, some great co actors with whom he could tune so easily and to the scripts which allowed him to showcase his versatility. Malayalam cinema and MohanLal have shared a common Golden period, whether it is merely incidental is totally upto the context. The real people who have gained are the audiences of Malayalam cinema who could watch a truly great actor in some truly Great movies.
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