Originally Posted by
Devarajan Master
Aadhunika cinema budhijeevikalum Mammootty yude polum cheruppakkaraya aaradhakarum dharichirikkunnathu 1987 July il iranghiya New Delhiyum augustil iranghiya Thaniyavarthanavum kazhinjhaanu Mammootty yugathinte aarambham ennu. They are thoroughly mistaken. 1987 nu munpu thane Mammootty ethandu 10 nu mukalil BBs and megahitsum 40 nu mukalil hits and superhitsum nalkiyittundakum! How many people know that? Now forget about hits and BBs. You would be amazed to see the brilliant and inspired acting moments he had given in those period much before 1987. Here I am depicting a series of fabulous performances of Mammootty in the period starting from October 1983 to August 1985 for the benefit of his young fans as well as the students of cinema who have no idea of this period and his classic performances.
1. Koodevide - October 1983 - Captain Thomas - Probably Mammootty's best performance in his first 3 years as an actor (period from 1980-1983). Even after 35 years, the performance stands out. "Njhane....Kanjhirappallikkaran Christianiya......." ennu thudanghunna dialogue um prakadanavum mathram mathi aa kadhapathram ennum nammude manassil jeevikkan.
Koodevide and Captain Thomas showed the cinema fraternity, both the class and the mass, what was in store in years to come.
2. Aksharanghal - March 1984 - Jayadevan - The movie in which Mammootty looked the towering Bharath Gopi in the eye. It was a treat to watch these two great actors facing each other. Fantastic performance from Mammootty in a very difficult role at a very early part of his career. Aksharanghalile Jayadevan Mammootty yude adyakala cinema jeevithathile oru nazhikakkallanu.
3. Aalkkoottathil Thaniye - June 1984 - Rajan - One of the most underrated performances of Mammootty. Actually he has acted his heart out as Rajan in the movie. Again , a very difficult role , as he would not get the viewers' sympathy at all. Kuttappeduthalukalkkum, veerppumuttalukalkkum naduvil onnu thurannu chirikkano manassu panku veykkano illathe vishamikkunna Rajan Mammootty yude asamanya prakadanam thanneyayirunnu.
4. Kanamarayathu - July 1984 - Roy Varghese (Royichan) - Suite ittu Office il irikkunnu, Car odikkunnu ennathu kondu Royichan oru kutti petti kadhapathram onnumakunnilla. No way.
Just go through similar characters done by many of the fine actors of Malayalam. You will find that Royichan is a one off... Royichan oru Padmarajan kadhapathramanu. Mammootty just got under the skin of that character with such ease and elan.
5. Adiyozhukkukal - December 1984 - Thonikkaran Karunan . When Adiyozhukkukal released, Keralam stopped talking about who's the successor of Sathyan. Outstanding performance from Mammootty which won him the State award for Best Actor. Even today, if you watch it, you won't feel out of place. That is the characteristic feature of all great performances of Mammootty. It is universal and transcends time.
6. Anubandham - April 1985 - Muraleedharan Master . A performance that can be rightfully called as a Text book of acting. A kind of performance that other than Mammootty only Bharath Gopi and Thilakan could pull off. Mammoottykku 32-33 vayassullappolanu aa kadhapathrathe athrayum mikavodu koodi addeham avatharippichathu. Asamanyamaya mithathwam kadhapathrathiludaneelam namukku kanan kazhiyum. A kind of dexterity that is unmatched.
7. Yathra - August 1985 - Unnikrishnan. The great 1983-1985 saga of Mammootty reached it's zenith in Balumehendra's Yathra. A movie that is nothing but a poetry in motion.. Unnikrishnan of Yathra will remain in our hearts forever. There are no parallels in Malayalam cinema for the jail scenes of Yathra and Mammootty's fabulous performance in it. His sound, voice over and it's modulation is used to perfection to narrate the story. Yathra arguably had the most poignant climax ever witnessed in our cinemas.
Seven outstanding performances. I have not still listed the BBs and huge commercial successes of Mammootty during the same 1983-1985. That list include Aa Raathri, Pinnilavu, America America, Sandharbham, Chakkarayumma, Athirathram, Nirakkoottu etc.
Remember...all these were in a period much before Aavanazhi or Vartha or Kochuthemmadi or Adimakal Udamakal, or New Delhi or Thaniyavarthanam!!
So Antonio......ee padanghalum, performances um kandenkil maathrame Mammootty enna nadante evolution, depth and strength of his performances, his legacy, ellam ninghalkku poornamayum ulkkollan kazhiyukayulloo. Above all to know that there was a period even 34 years back when Mammootty was synonymous with Malayalam cinema.
So watch these movies asap....
