Mammootty

Mammootty's original name is Muhammadkutty. He was born in a middle class Muslim family to a farmer father Ismail and mother Fatima, on 7th September 1953 at Chempu, Kottayam District, Kerala. He studied at Maharajas College, Kochi and later graduated with L.L.B. Degree from Ernakulam Government Law College. Even he had practiced law for two years before venturing fully into the films.

He made his unnoticed appearance in 1971 Malayalam film 'Anubhavangal Paalichakal' directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan, he appeared in a scene where he had to run in the crowd along with the lead actor of the film, Sathyan. His second film was in the year, 1973 titled 'Kaalachakram', but was later dropped out of the film.

The great actor went undiscovered for many years until 1979, when he finally seized the lead role in the film 'Devalokam'. Year 1980 proved to be prosperous to him, as that year he got married to Sulfath and also he landed up playing an antagonist role in the film 'Vilkkanundu Swapnangal' directed by Azad. In the same year Mammootty received his full-fledged role in the Malayalam film 'Mela'.

Since then, Mammootty's acting career took a swing to launch him as one of the biggest star in Malayalam Cinema. Till date, he has acted in more than 360 movies, playing lead roles in majority of them. Apart from Malayalam movies, he has also featured in number of other languages cinemas, including, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films.

Some of his famous non-Malayalam works include K. Balchander's 'Azhagan' in Tamil, Mani Ratnam's 'Thalapathy', N. Linguswami's 'Aanandham' and Rajiv Menon's 'Kandukondain Kandukondain'. In Telugu, the 1992 film 'Swathi Kinranam'. In Kannada, 'Shikari'. In Hindi, 'Dhartiputra', 'Sau Jhooth Ek Sach'.

Mammootty has earned tons of awards for his splendid acting skills, of which include three National Film Awards, five Kerala State Film Awards, eleven Filmfare Awards, eleven Kerala Film Critics Awards and five Asianet Film Awards. Also, he is honored with Padma Shri for his outstanding contribution in Indian Cinema.

He is the chairman of Malayalam Communications, which owns the TV channels People TV, Kairali TV and WE TV. The Southern Superstar has been associated with number of charity projects, like "Pain and Palliative Care Society", working for the betterment of cancer patients, "Jeevan Jothi". Mammootty is the goodwill ambassador of "Street India Movement", which aims at the eradication of child labour.

After years of struggle, Mammootty achieved his passion of being an actor. He is popular amongst the masses for his exceptional acting skills, unique style and the goodwill work he supports. His portrayal as larger-than-life superhero has made him an ultimate "Superstar".