Sreenivasan didn’t like Mammootty when they first met for a ‘legit’ reason: ‘He was mad back then’

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‘Mammootty is crazy about cinema’

Renowned for his wit and sarcasm — both in life and in his writing — Sreenivasan once said that he didn’t immediately develop a liking for Mammootty when they first met. During a 2010 event organised by Mangalam, the screenwriter-actor took a trip down memory lane and recalled their first interaction. He also took playful jabs at Mammootty, cracking up the megastar, who was also in attendance.

“I wish to tell a truth about him (Mammootty). He is mad. What I meant is, he is crazy about cinema. He was a total ‘cinema madman’ when I first met him. In 1980, during the filming of the movie Vilkkanundu Swapnangal, I was walking through the corridor at the Shornur Guest House one day. An unfamiliar voice called out, ‘Sreenivasan!’ I turned and saw a handsome young man. I did not like him at all as he was much taller than me,” Sreenivasan shared.

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Mammootty then began talking non-stop to Sreenivasan, asking and saying many things in one breath. “He remembered things about me that even I didn’t. The funny thing is… at that time, I had done only a handful of movies. What else is he but mad to know so much about an insignificant actor like me? In all honesty, it is that mad passion that made him who he is today. He reached a level beyond expectations because of this mad passion for cinema,” Sreenivasan noted, as the crowd applauded warmly.

Although he recommended Mammootty’s name to the makers of Mela, the screenwriter-actor always declined to take credit for it. “I didn’t suggest him for his sake, but for Mela’s sake. I have no role in his growth as an actor. I believe a person’s rise and fall depend entirely on their own talent. If one lacks the ability to act, no amount of recommendation will make them an actor,” he noted during an old episode of a Kairali TV talk show.

Mammootty and Sreenivasan worked together in several movies. (Credit: Facebook/@Mammootty)

How Mammootty helped Sreenivasan during his wedding

He also once mentioned that the megastar helped him during his wedding. After reaching his hometown from Madras (now Chennai) with the Rs 400 that Innocent had given him by pawning his wife Alice’s bangles for his journey, Sreenivasan realised that the expenses were far from over. His mother insisted that he get a golden tali (mangalsutra) for the ceremony. Completely broke, he decided to seek help from Mammootty.

“I went to his house at night and told him I needed Rs 2,000 because I was getting married the next day,” Sreenivasan recalled during a public event. The megastar gave him the money, and Sreenivasan and Vimala tied the knot at a registrar’s office the next day. “All I’m saying is… With Rs 400 from a Christian and money given by a Muslim Mammootty, I tied a golden tali around my Hindu wife. What religion, whose religion, where’s this religion?”

The two legends worked together in several movies like Azhakiya Ravanan, Mazhayethum Munpe, Katha Parayumpol, Oru Maravathoor Kanavu, Sreedharante Onnam Thirumurivu, Golanthara Vartha, and Megham, among others. Sreenivasan passed away on December 20, 2025.