Mohan Lal is taking Malayalam theatre to new horizons. He’s one of Kerala’s biggest superstars ever, with four National Film Awards, nine Filmfare Awards and millions of fans. With such a heavy-duty profile, I wondered why I received a rather cold handshake from 48-year-old Lal. Has such a successful track record made this talented actor a bit arrogant?
All my cynicism vanished as soon as I spoke to him. He warmed up instantly with a smile on his face and explained his visit to Dubai.
"I have come to Dubai to promote my play Chayamukhi, which means a mirror that reflects your thoughts rather than your looks. This is a play based on a short story from Mahabharata [the legendary Indian epic] and follows the period when the Pandavas [the five brothers in the tale] live in disguise for a year in the forest. I play Bheema while my co-star Mukesh plays Keechika."
Seldom do commercially successful Indian actors make a foray into theatre. Lal and Mukesh first came up with the idea while performing in a stage show together two years ago.
"This play is a long-cherished desire of Mukesh, who comes from a theatre background. I have always been interested in doing plays and have done many Sanskrit plays. During one of our stage shows, we thought of putting together a play.
We staged this play a couple of times, to a phenomenal response in Kerala, where there were at least 6,000 people in the audience," explains Lal.
"We thought it would be ideal to take such a real play, with no gimmicks, to an overseas audience and decided that the UAE should be the first international destination for Chayamukhi."
Indeed it will be a new experience for Malayali audiences, who are usually accustomed to starry, musical stage performances.
Lal has maintained a tremendous track record as an actor, managing a fine balance between commercial and critically-acclaimed films. What sort of films give him satisfaction as an actor?
"It is a combination of commercial and critically-acclaimed films. As an actor I’ve had to satisfy the masses since becoming a superstar — or whatever I am called — because of them. At the same time, all those award-winning performances have charged me. I was so lucky to be part of the golden Malayalam film era [spanning from 1985 to 1995], where I managed to be part of parallel cinema and at the same time do blockbuster films. Whatever I am today, it is simply because of these films."
Lal was lucky to be part of that era, in which he played a significant role with his tremendous performances in films such as Thoovanathumbikal, Manichitrathazhu Spadikam and Kalapani. Even after the era slowed down, he continued to give memorable performances — think of Iruvar, Vaanaprastham, Thanmathra and Paradesi.
As to whether the quality of Malayalam films has eroded over the years, Lal responds quickly, defending the industry.
"I don’t think there has been a dearth of good Malayalam films, but the problem is that some of the quality films do not run in theatres, making it difficult for the audience to catch them. Malayalam films tend to win around five National Awards in various categories on a yearly basis. Many new talents are cropping up and I believe in another couple of years, Malayalam cinema will go through a fantastic phase."
He adds: "I am also trying my best to come up with something different.
My latest release, Aakashagopuram, is based on Ibsen’s play Master Builder. Until 1960, Ibsen’s plays were very popular in Kerala but later only Satyajit Ray [regarded as India’s finest filmmaker] worked on one of Ibsen’s plays. I wanted to bring back that era and I believe such changes can take place only in Malyalam films. I think more than the risk of doing such films, it is about integrity to our art."
Lal thrives on challenges on screen and his next ambitious project, Nairsan, has been in the news for its historical relevance and his famous co-star, Jackie Chan.
Throwing some light on the huge venture, Lal says: "The film is about Nair, a Keralite, who fought against the British from Japan during India’s freedom struggle. Jackie Chan has an important role in the film. Nairsan will begin shooting in September and will take 160 days to shoot".
Lal has dominated the Malayalam film scene and the only one to rival him is Keralite superstar Mammootty. With two huge stars, there’s always the possibility of a professional rivalry between the stars but nothing like this exists, says Lal.
"I don’t think there is any rivalry between us, or else we would not have acted in more than 50 films together. There could be some fall-out between our fan associations, but there was never an issue between us and whatever you hear about our rivalry is media-created. In fact, we are going to do our 52nd film together called Hello Mayavi, a title that was derived from my hit film Hello and Mamooty’s blockbuster film Mayavi."
No rivalry
On other talks doing the rounds in the media about Lal teaming up with Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan in a Malayalam film called Kandahar, Lal putting an end to the rumours.
"For the last couple of years, there have been plans of teaming me up with Kamal Haasan but nothing has worked out so far. I am doing the film Kandahar but so far Kamal is not part of it. I am looking forward to working with him in a meaningful film".
Lal had earlier made a successful foray in Bollywood with his award-winning performance in Ram Gopal Varma’s Company, but his next performance, in Varma’s Aag, turned out to be a damp squib. Does Lal regret doing Aag?
"When I do a film, I trust my director and I did both my Hindi films only because of Ram Gopal Varma, who is a fantastic director. Company was an irresistible offer while Aag was savaged by the media simply because the film was a remake of Sholay, which is considered the best of Indian filmmaking.
I have no regrets doing Aag and if I get another juicy offer from Varma I will do it." Lal is considered India’s best actor by many. But who does he think is India’s best actor?
"I think it varies from performance to performance, as it difficult to name one actor from any industry, but I can safely say Amitabh Bachchan is India’s best actor seeing the work he has produced over the years. I am sure no one will debate with me on my choice," responds Lal.
