‘I have no positives as an actor’: When Mammootty revealed how he overcame his ‘negatives’

Malayalam megastar Mammootty scripted history on Saturday, July 18, by bagging his fourth National Film Award for Best Actor — the most by an Indian artiste, a record he shares with Amitabh Bachchan — for his performance in director Rahul Sadasivan’s Bramayugam.

One of the most influential and revered actors in the history of Indian cinema, Mammootty has appeared in over 400 films across Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and English, spanning over five decades.

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Despite the many achievements he has garnered over the years, including a record seven Kerala State Film Awards for Best Actor, Mammootty has often stated that he is “not a so-called born actor.” Unlike his contemporary Mohanlal, who has a natural flair for several things — such as comedy, dance, and action — Mammootty has to put in significant hard work to excel in such moments. In fact, he has many a time admitted that he has far too many limitations as a performer.

However, one of his biggest talents is that he rarely makes the audience feel the weight of these limitations. Legendary director Fazil, who has delivered several classics with both thespians, once opined that, among the two, Mammootty is the better actor. He reasoned that if Mammootty, despite his many shortcomings and limited skill set, could hold his own against an all-rounder like Mohanlal, then the former is undoubtedly the superior actor.

One of Mammootty’s greatest qualities is his immense self-awareness — he knows his strengths and weaknesses better than anyone else. During an old interview with Kairali TV, Mammootty noted that he has “no positives as an actor,” and that it is his “hard work and persistent effort” that have helped him play all the roles he has taken on.

“I have no positives as an actor. As for negatives — like how people say — I don’t know how to dance, sing, or do comedy. Some of my hand gestures (during performances) are comical, and I also have an issue walking. I see a lot of negatives; I haven’t seen anything positive,” he observed.

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When the interviewers asked how he managed to portray such a wide variety of roles so effectively, if he had no “positive qualities” according to him, Mammootty noted that they were the result of his efforts. “It’s just my hard work and efforts. The positive quality I have, in my opinion, is that I always get into my characters. My biggest struggle is preventing ‘Mammootty’ from seeping into my characters. I ensure that my roles do not resemble the real me. I’m a failure when acting as myself. I’m only interested in becoming another character,” he added.

During the conversation, Mammootty also shared that it hurts him more than a film’s commercial failure when one of his performances or characters, into which he has put significant effort, goes unappreciated. “It hurts me even more than my movie becoming a box-office failure when one of my performances, for which I put in so much hard work and effort, goes unnoticed. Films like Soorya Manasam (1992) fall into that category.”

Mammootty bagged the National Film Award for Best Actor for the first time in 1989 for his performances in Mathilukal and Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha. He clinched the award again in 1993 for Ponthan Mada and Vidheyan, and for the third time in 1998 for his performance in Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. In 1998, he shared the Best Actor award with Ajay Devgn, who won for his performance in Zakhm. This time, Mammootty shares the honour with Kartik Aaryan, who earned the award for Chandu Champion, helmed by Kabir Khan.