Mammootty is one of the popular Malayalam actors. He, along with Kamal Haasan, holds the record for winning the National Film Award for Best Actor most times. He has acted in more than 300 films. Mammootty is considered to be one of those rare actors who excel in both art and commercial cinema.

Mammootty first appeared in the film Anubhavangal Paalichakal (1971). It was directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan and starred Sathyan and Prem Nazir. During this time he was still a student at Maharajas College. In 1973 he got another role in Kalachakram, directed by K. Narayanan. This too had Prem Nazi in the star cast. His first leading role was in Devalokam (1979) which was directed by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. The film somehow remained unreleased.

Vilkanundu Swapnangal directed by M. Azad was Mammootty`s first film the lead actor where he played the role of Madhavan Kutty. He further got noticed with fulm like Mela where he played a Circus artist and Thrishna , directed by I.V. Sasi. After the success of Thrishna, Mammootty and I.V. Sasi teamed up to deliver more hits like Aavanazhi and Inspector Balram.

Yavanika (1982), directed by K. G. George, established him as one of the leading Malayalam heroes. The movie was a big commercial success and Mammootty received great reviews for his style and dialogue delivery. He portrayed the role of a police officer in this flick. In his later career too he appeared in roles where he was the tough cop. the audience loved him in these roles where he fought the villains and won over his leading ladies. His commercial films were greatly successful. However Mammootty balanced his work as he appeared in both art and mainstream films. It was for Ahimsa in 1981 that Mammootty received his first Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting Actor.

In his career a number of awards followed. These included the 3 National awards, 6 State awards and 9 Filmfare Awards in the Best actor category. In 1998 he was felicitated with Padma Shri for his outstanding contributions to Indian cinema.

Mammootty`s commercial success continued with flicks such as Padmarajan`s Koodevide and Joshy`s Aa Raathri. His performances in movies like Aalkootathil Thaniye and Adiyozhukkukal simultaneously established him as a serious actor as well. Mammootty is known for his spontaneity and subtlety. His style of acting is never loud. He would rather underplay a character than overact. From 1982 to 1986 Mammootty acted in over 150 films as the leading man. In the year 1986 he appeared in 35 movies.

It was character of Karunan in Adiyozhukkukal directed by I.V. Sasi that fetched him the Best Actor State Award and Filmfare Award. On the other hand Balu Mahendra`s Yathra brought Mammootty State special jury award and once again the Filmfare Award for the Best Actor. One film that created history in Malayalam films was Nirakkoottu, directed by Joshy. This film brought loads of critical acclaim. After these films Mammootty`s career slowed down a bit. But it is near impossible to subjugate an actor like him.

Mammootty came back with a bang with his next project New Delhi and Thaniyavarthanam in the year 1987. The former was inspired from "The Almighty" by Irving Wallace. Here he portrayed the role of a journalist who took revenge on politicians who flattered him. Such a role was hugely appreciated by the audience. And once again Mammootty was touted as one of the finest actors of Malayalam cinema. He was now the megastar as the film went onto create box office history in Kerala. The film was later dubbed into several other Indian languages.

While New Delhi brought him commercial success Thaniyavarthanam got him very critical applauds. In this movie he played the role of Balan Mash, a school teacher who becomes a mental patient due to unavoidable circumstances. The movie was scripted by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil. In 1988 Mammootty once again delivered another big hit, Oru CBI Diary Kurippu. This time the film won hearts in both Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Mammootty touched the height of his career in Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha. The film was directed by T.Hariharan. His performed the role of a gallant `Chekavan` or warrior but he is maligned by circumstances. His superb performance brought him his first National Film Award for Best Actor. Mammooty also received rave reviews about the way he had prepared for the role as it required to prepare himself both physically and psychologically.

Mammooty was fortunate enough to work ace directors like Adoor Gopalakrishnan. He appeared in Mathilukal directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan and also as Varunni in Mrugaya directed by I.V. Sasi. Mammootty won the Filmfare award for Amaram directed by Bharathan. He drifted away from his glamorous roles in this film and played the role of an uneducated fisherman whose only desire is to see his daughter become a doctor. It was during this phase of his career that he worked with Adoor Gopalakrishnan at stretch. Both of them made three films together: Anantharam, Mathilukal and Vidheyan. Amongst these three Malayalam films Mathilukal was considered to be his career best performance. He also appeared in TV Chandran`s Ponthan Mada. He was duly rewarded for his brilliant performance in both the flicks with a National Award and State Award as the Best Actor.

After this several films hit the theatres: Valtsalyam directed by Cochin Haneefa, The King directed by Shaji Kailas and Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar directed by Jabbar Patel. The latter was made in English. Mammootty did a lot of research to suit the role. The actor went through hours of make up and dental manipulations for the exact looks. The film was widely appreciated in various leading Film Festivals. Mammootty was seen in a completely deglamorised role. His fans were surprised but they appreciated the talent of the actor. His performance was so convincing and brilliant that he was awarded the National Film Award for Best Actor in 1998. The film was released in 2000. It was sponsored by National Film Development Corporation of India and the Ministry of Social Justice; it was released after a long period. His labour paid as the film as appreciated all over the world. Mammootty now has become a star with international recognition. Mammootty won his third National Film Award for Best Actor for Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar. He also bagged the desirable Rajat Kamal for best acting. Once again his career slumped after such outstanding achievements.

Being a fighter Mammootty once again returned to the silver screen with Chronic Bachelor (2003) and Sethurama Iyer CBI (2004). The latter became a huge hit and broke all records at the box office in the year 2004. A few of his later films dealt with social issues. One such film would be Kaazhcha. The film realistically represented the contemporary social issues. A well written script and powerful performance by Mammootty were instrumental in making this film a success. Mammootty won the State Best Actor Award for his impressive performance as `Operator Madhavan`. The film Kazhcha did well at box-office too.

In 2004-2005 Mammootty`s career graph rose stunningly after the release of Rajamanikyam. It was directed by Anwar Rasheed. Breaking all records it became the biggest hit of 2005. Rajamanikyam was also declared as the biggest hit that was ever produced in the history of Malayalam cinema. In 2006, Mammootty continued his meteoric rise with the entertainers like Turuppugulan. The character Gulan became such a rage among the kids. The character was so popular that a comic book was started based on it.

Mammootty delivered the biggest hits in the year 2007. His action comedy Mayavi was the top grosser. He balanced his commercial success with a more serious role in Shyamaprasad`s Ore Kadal. His role as Dr. Nathan was widely appreciated by the critic. He also came up with Big B which was directed by debutant director Amal Neeradhe. The film was appreciated for its efficient presentation.

In 2008 his first hit film was Annan Thambi. He was donned as the biggest crowd puller with the film releasing at 75 centers across the state of Kerala. Setting a glaring example for the newcomers Mammootty has also tried out his luck in films in other Indian languages as well. He has acted in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi movies as well. In 1989 he made his Tamil debut in Maunam Sammatham. It was directed by K. Madhu. He has acted with some of the leading Tamil directors such as K. Balachander (Azhagan) and Mani Ratnam (Thalapathy). In 1993 Mammootty starred in Fazil`s Kilippechu Kekkavaa. The film had the Malayalam superstar in a romantic role. The movie is remembered for its unusual climax. He was also pitted against the Tamil megastar Rajinikanth in Thalapathi. This film established Mammootty as one of the favourite stars with the Tamil audience. He starred in another blockbuster Tamil film, Makkal Aatchi directed by RK Selvamani. To some extent it was a surprise hit at the box office.

Next he went onto star in Rajiv Menon`s Kandukondain Kandukondain in 1995. The film was based on Jane Austin`s Sense and Sensibility. Despite being a multi-starrer with Ajithkumar, Tabu and Aishwarya Rai, Mammootty stole the limelight. It gave a boost to his popularity in North India as well. The commercial success of Marumalarchi won him a long term associate in Henry, the producer of this film. Here he portrayed the role of padayatchi, a caste of Tamil Nadu. The duo is teaming up once again for Aruvadai in Malayalam. Aanandam directed by N. Linguswamy and he cast Mammootty as a family man in this flick. This role was similar to the traditional Tamil roles that were often played by the likes of Sivaji Ganesan. This particular film was the biggest hit of 2001.

Mammootty entered the Hindi film industry with Thriyathri in 1989. However, his first Bollywood film as hero was Dhartiputra. The film failed to create any ripple at the box office. Mammootty`s Sau Jhooth Ek Sachwon critical acclaim it was not commercially successful.

His Telugu film Swathi Kiranam was also well received by the audience and critics.

His famous work Mathilukal was shown in around 40 International Film festivals beginning with Venice. The film is based on the novel Mathilukal by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. The music for the film was composed by Vijay Bhaskar. It was well received by the international audience at the Venice International Film Festival and was the winner of 4 awards at the National Film Awards in the year 1990.

Vidheyan was adapted from the novel Bhaskara Pattelarum Ente Jeevithavum by Malayalam writer Paul Zachariah. It explores the master-slave relation in a South Karnataka location. Vidheyan won the State Film Awards for best film and best director for Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Mammootty won the National Film Award and State Film Award for the same in 1993. The film also won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and Interfilm Award - Honorable Mention at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival.

Besides being one of the most sought after stars in south India he is also a nice human being. His social commitment is unprecedented. It is quite evident from the fact that he is involved in various charitable projects which help then needy and downtrodden. From setting up educational institutes to promoting several social causes--- Mammootty has never backed out from a good cause. Social services and charity has been given a huge boost by this veteran actor. In fact, he has become a prop for the feeble, a shoulder for underprivileged and deserted people. To a certain extent he has rendered social service a new height. The best part of it all is that he had not done all these for fame or popularity. On the contrary his popularity has benefitted the social causes.

Mammootty has a huge list of filmography. He ahs acted not only in Malayalam films but in other Indian languages as well. Some of his popular films are as follows:-

Malayalam Films

2000

Annan Thampy	Palunku	Black
Raudram	Pothen Vava	Aparichithan
Kadha Parayumbhol	Prajapathi	Vajram
Nasraani	Thuruppu Gulan	Danny Danniel Thomson
Ore Kadal	Rajamanikyam	Kaiyethum Doorath
Mission 90 Days	Nerariyan CBI	Rakshasa Rajavu
Big B	Rappakal	Dada Sahib
Mayavi	Thaskara Veeran	Arayannagalude Veedu
Kaiyoppu	Vesham

1990

Ezhupunna Tharakan	Indra Prastham	Sainyam
The Godman	Hitler	Valtsalyam
Megham	Azhakiya Ravanan	Aayirappara
Pallavur Devanarayanan	The King	Pappayude Swantham Appoos
Stalin Sivadas	Ormmakalalundayirikanam	Kizhakkan Pathrose
Thachiledathu Chundan	Mazhayethum Munpe	Neelagiri
Elavamkodu Desam	Sagaram Sakshi	Kanalkkattu
Sidhartha	Vishnu	Adayalam
Bhoothakkannadi	Ponthan Mada	Amaram
Kaliyoonjal	Vidheyan	Mathilukal
Oral Mathram	Golanthara Vartha	Midhya

1980

Mrigaya	Veendum	Kanamarayathu
Mahayanam	Nyayavidhi	Aa Rathri
Nair Saab	Gandhinagar 2nd Street	America America
Adharvam	Vartha	Asthram
Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha	Yathra	Chakravalam Chuvannappol
Adikkurippu	Nirakkoottu	Innalenkil Nale
	Idanilangal	Padayottam
Vicharana	Angadikkappurath	Thadakom
Adimakal Udamakal	Adiyozhukkukal	Ahimsa
Kathakku Pinnil	Aksharangal
Geetham	Athirathram

1970

Kaalachakram

Anubhavangal Palichakal

Tamil Films

Vishwa Thulasi	Aanandham	Makkal Aatchi
Karmegham	Marumalarchi	Kilipetchu Ketkava
Junior Senior	Arasiyal	Thalapathi

English Films

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar

Telugu Films

Railway Coolie

Suryaputrulu

Swathi Kiranam

Mammootty is still active and many of his films are under production or in the post production stage. He has always been a favourite amongst the Malayalam directors as well as the other South Indian filmmakers. Alongwith Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi he has contributed a lot to the development of Malayalam cinema.