So, it would come as a shock to this crowd that I have spent a considerable amount of time on movies. Starting with late Saturdayu night Hindi movies on Doordarshan and now continuing with bingeing on new releases in OTT platforms.
Here I am, on another Saturday night, about to watch Kaathal, the latest one from Mammootty. Until very recently, I was of the strong opinion that Mohanlal was a better actor. Both their oeuvre consist of mindblowing performances in the tragedy/ drama genre- to Mammotty's Thaniyavarthanam, I present Mohanlal's Thalavattom. Yathra and Bhoothakkanadi can definitely hold themselves against Yathramozhi and Bhramaram. There are many more and would take more than one night out to merely list them head to head. The tragedy/ drama thus see the thespians evenly matched and it is a matter of pride for all Malayalees.
When it comes to the action genre, both of them had memorable performances playing the angry (sometimes young, unfortunately too young for their real age) man, fighting the good cause against the entrenched elite like Mahanagaram, Inspector Balram etc for Mammotty and Adwaitham, Abhimanyu etc for Mohanlal. However, both of them did immense disservice to themselves and to Malayalam cinema by choosing several larger than life, chauvinistic and macho roles which do not deserve to be mentioned.
Both of the have also performed well in the playing the
consummate family man in movies like Aviduthe Pole Ivideyum, Bharatham,
Thus far, they are evenly matched and now come the reasons why I saw Mohanlal as a better actor. He played the angst, ambition and helplessness that we all go through in life way better than Mammootty in movies like Mithunam, T P Balagopalan MA, Mukundetta Sumitra Vilikkunnu, Varavelppu, Vellakanalude Naadu, Nadodikkatu etc and that too in a way we did not feel sorry for the character. We could relate to them (just try to get any basic government service delivered even in these days of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, you will feel the pain), but we also felt light-hearted since these movies used comedy to depict the ground level realities of life.
Thus, although the Priyadarshan- Mohanlal combo provided us several slapstick comedy movies and Mammootty has nevern been able to pull this off, my rating of Mohanlal as a better came from the above described depiction of the realities of life through comedy, even black comedy. This had been my opinion until recently.
However, several movies from the last couple of years have made me rethink my stance on this matter. Mohanlal has been consumed by a larger than life persona in most films including his biggest hit "Lucifer" while most such films have been duds and disappointing to watch for a connoiseur of good acting. The thespian had downgraded his own talent and craft while roles doing justice to the old Mohanlal were too few and far in between like Drishyam.
It is here that Mammootty has scored a decisive point as he has been quite selective and done the opposite of Mohanlal. Yes, there have been duds and disappointments, but they have been too far and few in between. Movies like Unda, Puzhu, Kannur Squad, Rorschak etc are unique in their storytelling- they are dark, real and the main character has shades of darkness in himself in many of them. A few years ago, he appeared in a movie called "Munnariyippu" and this is when he perhaps began reinventing himself, rebuilt his image and played roles more suited to his age and skill. These were not phenomenal performances by themselves, but were rather proof of the fact that when backed by a good story, the tasty dish of acting when served in a shiny and clean vessel, it can be a delectable treat.
As I reach the culmination of my quest to answer who is a better actor now, the final flourish, the helicopter six at Wankhede in 2011, the Fergie time goal by Solskjaer in 1999, the mike drop moment comes from the movie "Kathal-The Core". The movie does not have a stand-out sequence of phenomenal performance, but look at each moment, when the wife wishes her husband the best for the upcoming election or when the brother-in-law says he wants to support his sister and numerous such small snaps, you will see that the actor has done justice to a very difficult role in a socially relevant subject.
Mammootty and Mohanlal will do more movies, Malayalam still awaits the inheritors to their thrones, both are great actors in their own right, but to me right now, Mammootty has moved ahead, after several decades and hundreds of movies in their careers.
