Mohanlal@52: Why he's Malayalam cinema's pillar of strength

Mohanlal, the Malayalam superstar, has been a part of the film industry for last the three decades. He turned 52 on May 21, 2012. Here is a photo tribute to the great actor who has delivered some hits and also some misses at the box office over the last three decades.

Starting his career in 1978 with Malayalam movie 'Thiranottam', Mohanlal has been leading Mollywood for more than three decades.

His latest release 'Grandmaster' is running successfully and has already acclaimed blockbuster status.

He has been a part of the cast of over 300 Malayalam films. His production house has released 35 films. He has also been part of some Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films.

Mohanlal is also the recipient of the Padma Shree Award conferred to him by Indian government in 2001.

The actor has three more films lined up this year.

The immediate release of the star will be the movie with Ranjith titled 'Spirit' which is into its post production.

The movie, 'Sprit', which teams up Mohanlal and Ranjith after five long years is said to have a very socially relevant theme and a stellar cast in the supporting list.

Mohanlal is currently working for the movie 'Run Baby Run' with senior director Joshy. A new generation flick with a TV channel as its backdrop.

'Run Baby Run' will also have Amala Paul as the heroine in the scripts of Sachi. The movie is expected to become the Onam release of the star.

Mohanlal's next project will be P Balachandrakumar's thriller titled 'Specialist'. This movie will be extensively shot in Quilon and will be the last release of the star in 2012.

Malayalam superstar Mohanlal was introduced to Hindi audiences as the even-tempered cop in RGV's 'Company'.

Keeping with his rarer-than-rare outings, Mohanlal remains as finicky about Bollywood as he always was.

While Mohanlal's reluctance to act in Hindi films may be disheartening for his admirers across India, his appearance in friend Priyadarshan's 'Tezz',as a cop, would provide some comfort.

He seems pleased with the success of Hindi remakes of South Indian blockbusters, of which Salman remains the biggest beneficiary.

Mohanlal himself rarely watches Hindi flicks, but loves Amitabh Bachchan. If given a chance, he would like to speak proper Hindi. "Nobody talks in Hindi in Kerala. When you don't have anyone who speaks a language, you lose your determination to learn it," he explains.

At a time when young entrants from South are looking to make a strong presence in Bollywood, Malayalam superstar Mohanlal feels that although the reach of Hindi cinema is wider, he has nothing much to prove here as an actor.

Mohanlal made his acting debut in Malayalam cinema in 1978 with 'Thiranottam' but the film was never released due to censorship issues.

It was after the success of his 1986 film, 'Rajavinte Makan', that he was labeled a superstar of Malayalam cinema.

In the 1980s he got to play the lead antagonist in his first release 'Manjil Virinja Pookkal' at 20.

Speaking about the mixed response to the much touted 'Casanovva', Mohanlal says, "It took nearly three years for us to finish the shoot of 'Casanova'. We went through several traumatic experiences, and maybe that trauma is reflected in the movie too. Once a film is released, I do not ponder its success or failure because both are part of the industry."

"After a stage, every film slips from the hands of the actor. It is more or less the director's act," Mohanlal says.

'Grandmaster' had a different Lal in the offering and the coming movies will also display the best in the star.

Apart from Padma Shri, Mohanlal has also been honoured with rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army and an honourary Doctorate title.

Today, when Mollywood is struggling for existence, Mohanlal is one of its strongest pillars.

We wish him success and a very Happy Birthday.