34 films, first State Award, exceptional performances and superstardom: How Mohanlal, at 26, altered the course of his journey in just one year

Winning hearts with comedies

Mohanlal commenced the year by portraying one of the lead characters in director Sathyan Anthikad’s fantasy comedy Pappan Priyappetta Pappan, which centred around death and the afterlife. Despite the film’s underperformance at the box office, the actor delivered a promising performance as a fearless cop whose body has been inhabited by the spirit of a naïve youngster after his demise. While he adeptly transitioned between the two characters, demonstrating mastery, what truly stood out was his finesse in handling comedy when his body was possessed by the youth’s spirit.

Comedy was a primary focus for him that year and alongside his confidante, director Priyadarshan, Mohanlal made significant strides in the genre with exceptional portrayals in Mazha Peyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu, Hello My Dear Wrong Number and Thalavattam. His physical agility and impeccable timing helped elevate these movies to iconic status, ensuring they retained significant rewatch value. Simultaneously, he collaborated with director Anthikkad and screenwriter-actor Sreenivasan for three comedy dramas — TP Balagopalan MA, Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam and Gandhinagar 2nd Street — excelling in each role, while also ensuring that they all remained unique and yet charming. He earned his first Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for TP Balagopalan MA, while Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam helped him bag his first Filmfare Award South for Best Actor. His performance in Sibi Malayil’s satirical comedy-drama Doore Doore Oru Koodu Koottam also earned significant praise, with many of his dialogues eventually becoming a part of Malayalam pop culture.

Tearing apart the same hearts with tragedies

Nonetheless, comedy wasn’t his sole focus that year, as he also left a significant impact with tragedies, delivering hard-hitting depictions. While Mohanlal’s portrayal as a homeless orphan in Alleppey Ashraf’s Ninnistham Ennishtam tore the hearts of viewers into pieces, with its track “Ilam Manjin Kulirumayoru” still stirring emotions among Malayalees, his handling of the character Rasheed in Hariharan’s Panchagni showcased remarkable maturity, especially considering he was just 26 years old while tackling such an emotionally layered role. He continued to demonstrate his skill in playing emotionally-nuanced characters with tragic fates in Venu Nagavally’s Sukhamo Devi and Sreekumaran Thampi’s Yuvajanotsavam.

Even though his presence in Reghunath Paleri’s Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare was mostly as a voiceover, Mohanlal managed to break hearts in the few scenes towards the end, when he made an appearance. His ability to convey deep emotions through his voice, despite minimal physical presence throughout, and the striking portrayal of his fugitive character’s helplessness and deep desire to lead a life in the end, resonated deeply with Malayali audiences, leaving a lasting impression.

Collaborations with Padmarajan

The actor joined forces thrice with ace filmmaker P Padmarajan, widely regarded as one of the pioneers of Malayalam cinema’s golden era, that year and needless to say, all three movies became benchmarks in the industry’s history. In Padmarajan’s romantic saga Namukku Parkkan Munthirithoppukal, Mohanlal pushed his limits and delivered one of his finest performances, portraying a non-alpha character, a rarity in that era, in the film that challenged societal taboos surrounding rape. Mohanlal’s measured delivery of dialogues, coupled with his endearing portrayal and seamless integration into the story’s environment, alongside Padmarajan’s masterful writing, elevated Namukku Parkkan Munthirithoppukal to one of the finest romantic dramas in Malayalam.

In the filmmaker’s mystery thriller Kariyilakkattu Pole, Mohanlal portrayed a senior cop on the trail of a renowned director’s murderer. Regarded as one of the finest Malayalam films in the genre, Mohanlal’s performance as the police officer eschewed over-the-top moments typical of cop characters and he knocked it out of the park. In Padmarajan’s drama Deshadanakkili Karayarilla, often cited as one of the earliest Malayalam films to address lesbianism, Mohanlal was just one of the few central characters and yet, his performance stood out for its controlled portrayal of emotions, never veering into exaggeration.

At the same time, even smaller dramas like Oppam Oppathinoppam, Abhayam Thedi, Vartha, Kaveri, Mizhineerppoovukal, Ente Entethu Mathrem, Manasiloru Manimuthu, Adiverukal, Revathikkoru Pavakkutty and Kunjattakilikal provided the actor with ample chances to refine his skills and solidify his standing and Mohanlal skillfully capitalised on these opportunities to their fullest extent.

Mohanlal’s version of Don and the remake of Don

Besides all that happened in his career in 1986, the year also witnessed Mohanlal’s coronation as the next superstar with his arrival as Vincent Gomes in Thambi Kannanthanam’s gangster film Rajavinte Makan, causing ripples nationwide. At just 26, Mohanlal embodied the role of a crime boss with unmatched precision and swagger, much before swag became a thing, capturing the essence of the character seamlessly. Vincent, being not only a deeply flawed person but also a Godfather-like figure to his men, encompassed emotional depth, making the character multi-dimensional, and Mohanlal handled it with utmost care, setting a benchmark for the rendition of gangster characters in Malayalam, which is exactly why people still use the dialogue “My phone number is 2255” from the movie in real-life moments they perceive as massy. Apart from its blockbuster status in Malayalam, Rajavinte Makan was remade in Tamil as Makkal En Pakkam, in Kannada as Athiratha Maharatha, in Telugu as Aahuthi and in Hindi as Kanwarlal.

In addition to getting an actioner akin to the Amitabh Bachchan classic Don (1978), Mohanlal also took on the titular role in the official Malayalam remake of the Chandra Barot directorial, titled Shobhraj, helmed by hitmaker J Sasikumar. Although his performance fell short, particularly because of the film’s overall poor quality, Shobhraj became a worthy addition to Mohanlal’s repertoire, contributing to a career boost for the 26-year-old actor, unlike any before or after.