Learn 'Why no one can replace Mohanlal'

Why we should learn that 'No one can replace Mohanlal'

An actor’s job is quite a tough one. It starts from the selection. As it is said, records are created and those are meant to be. What is the most important aspect of a movie that measures. When you are in a theatre to watch a movie, there are few.

• How can we define a Complete Actor?

When someone asks this question you needn’t have to think twice to cite the example of Mohanlal and show how a complete actor should be. Yes, Mohanlal, undeniably one of the best actors of Indian cinema is blessed with that ability to display magic on the screen with his riveting performances. This article focuses on Mohanlal, the actor and why we all could say 'He is the pride of India'.

• Darling of Malayalam cinema:

Mohanlal is the darling of Malayalam audience. In the initial days of his career he did roles which were easily identifiable for the people of Kerala. He teamed up with Sreenivasan and Sathyan Anthikkadu to come up with roles which were mirror images of the youngsters in the society. His innocence and undeniable charm took the characters to another level. He kept the audience tickling with ventures like ‘Kilukkam’, taking the audience for a joyful ride. At the same time, he moved people into tears with portrayals like that of ‘Sethumadhavan’ in Kireedom. In due course of time he became the Mass hero like that of in ‘Narasimham’, twirling his moustache and fighting against evil.

• An actor par excellence:
The best aspect of Mohanlal’s acting is that, it is not complex. You could watch his movies with a very light mind and you will be in a state of awe while watching him perform with utmost ease. A scene that we consider to be complex would be performed by Mohanlal with utmost ease.

• Finest performances of Lal:

Iruvar :
This movie stands right up there. Directed by the maverick filmmaker Mani Rathnam, the movie narrated the life of MGR and after watching the movie we can’t imagine anyone other than Mohanlal in the lead character’s shoes. We could see how easily he emotes in various sequences with expressions that are easily believable. It was said that the director forgot to call cut to the shots in this movie and that is a testimony to the actor’s mesmerizing performance.

Dasaratham:
This movie directed by Siby Malayil is one of the most underrated movies of Malayalam. Performance of Mohanlal in this movie is unmatchable. Every time you watch this movie, it is quite natural to fall in love with the character ‘Rajeevan’. He never goes overboard and remains within the limit of natural acting to deliver the character’s slightly eccentric needs.

Vanaprastham:
The movie that fetched him his second national award for the best actor. Mohanlal portrayed the role of a Kathakali artist in this movie and anyone who watches this movie would definitely feel like Mohanlal is a real ‘Kathakali’ artist.

Manichithrathaazhu:
Dr Sunny, the character played by Mohanlal comes towards the second half of the movie but creates a big impact in the movie. His portrayal of Sunny was simplistic. Watch the other language remakes of ‘Manichithrathaazhu’ to know the real intensity of performance of Mohanlal.

Thanmathra:
Post 2000 there hasn’t been much movies that really challenged the actor in Mohanlal. Most of the movies focused on the star in him. But Blessy’s ‘Thanmathra’ was an exception. Mohanlal played the character of Rameshan Nair who suffers from Alzheimers disease in due course of time. He performed with utmost ease bringing in the correct mannerisms at the right time.

• The star of repeatedly watched movies:

Mohanlal’s movies have found profound acceptance transcending many generations. The fact to be noticed is that most of the movies which starred Mohanlal in the lead role are the one’s with highest television ratings. The repeated telecasting of those movies shows the wide range of acceptance that the movies have got. The Mohanlal starrer ‘Manichithrathaazhu’ is the movie that has got the maximum repetitive value.


• Mohanlal – The Action hero :

Fight sequences tend to go overboard in Indian cinema. But, with Mohanlal in the scene, the sequences look natural. The flexibility of the actor and also his knowledge in martial arts has helped him a lot in performing fight sequences brilliantly.

• The dancer in him:

Yes, we have seen youngsters doing fast and hippy numbers adopting the western style. But, still when we see a Mohanlal dance number from the past, it is sure to give you goosebumps. The way he gels himself to the song and gives his best is quite brilliant. Which another actor who has not learned classical dance could do the role of a classical dancer and perform like one with cent percent conviction? Yes, we are talking about ‘Kamaladalam’ in which Mohanlal did the role of a classical dancer

• Every star's superstar:
Mohanlal is the pride of Malayalam cinema and that could be understood from the fact that he is the role model of many other young actors in the country. If a question is asked as if who their favourite actor is, many wouldn’t think twice to say Mohanlal. Actor’s like Surya have talked a lot about Mohanlal’s acting and how the actor’s movies have inspired him. Many other actors have talked highly about Mohanlal, praising his ability to act naturally and also commented about his off screen persona of being simple and down to earth. Many have talked about their interest to work with this gifted actor with S S Rajamouli the director of ‘Bahubali’ being the latest addition to this list.


• Movies that sell in remake market:
Mohanlal is one such actor whose movies have found maximum acceptance in the remake market. Most of the big movies that starred Mohanlal in the 80’s and 90’s have been remade into many other languages. ’Drishyam’ directed by Jeethu Joseph is the latest to join the list with it being remade into almost all other regional languages.

• The irreplaceable actor:
Why Mohanlal is an actor who can’t be replaced? To get an answer to this question you have to watch the other language remakes of Mohanlal movies. Umpteen number of Mohanlal movies have been remade to other languages and it would be hard to pick up any performances which were better than the original. This underlines the fact why he is an actor who is irreplaceable by all measures.

• The Box Office King of Malayalam cinema:
If we take a close look into the biggest box office successes of Malayalam cinema, we could find Mohanlal movies ruling the list from time to time. During the late 80’s and 90’s, the golden period of Malayalam cinema, most of the movies starring Mohanlal were big hits bringing in large amount of revenue. Movie like ‘Chithram’, ‘Kilukkam’ and ‘Narasimham’ were top grosser of their times. Even now, it is ‘Drishyam’ starring Mohanlal which is at the top of the list.



• The all-rounder of cinema:
His contribution to cinema is not just limited to acting. He is an all rounder in all senses with unmatched ability in various sections of cinema. Mohanlal is a good singer too and has sung in many of his movies. Most of the songs that he has sung have found place in the chartbusters. He even went on to win an award for the song ‘Kaithappoovin..’from Kannezhuthi Pottum thottu. He is a good writer and has got tremendous command over Malayalam language and this could be understood through the blog that he holds. He posts articles on varied themes on time to time basis. He even wrote the story for a movie named ‘Swapnamalika’, which hasn’t released yet.