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Deccan Herald Article on Mammootty, A Man who Never Ages

(Deccan Herald)


Mammootty is no run-of-the-mill superstar.
One can’t ask him the usual questions. He can perhaps be called the first thinking superstar. Mammootty always looks for something out of the ordinary. He never ages either in his looks or in his thoughts. 

In the City for the opening of his family’s birthing centre, Mammootty took time off to chat with Metrolife on why he has a fascination for promoting and encouraging new directors and also about his projects in the pipeline. 

Mammootty has just finished dubbing for his first Kannada venture Shikari. Ask him how he felt dubbing in a totally alien language and he says, “I must admit it was tough. A lot of words in Kannada and Malayalam sound the same. But I feel I have done 95 per cent justice to the dubbing and I hope people will give me that much of a margin for my effort.” He adds, “But anyone who hears my voice will know the difference in pronunciation but I must say I enjoyed every minute of it.”

Mammootty is presently shooting for The Doubles where he plays an overprotective brother of his sister played by Nadiya Moidu. “It’s a thriller. The story is of a brother who’s protective about his sister. The two lose their parents in an accident and are adopted by a man living in Pondicherry. The sister falls in love but the brother disapproves of the relationship and then the drama ensues,” he explains. But the twist in the tale comes only when Mammootty comes face to face with a woman in a purdah. 

“There’s a mystery about her and the brother is out to unravel that mystery,” he smiles. Talks are on for the Tamil film Shoot at sight but Mammootty says, “nothing has been finalised.” 

Mammootty is all set to produce his first Malayalam film Mathilukalkkappuram which will be launched in March. “The script is ready. Resul Pookutty will be doing the sound and Mamatha Mohandas will play the female lead,” he reveals. But why Mamatha? “She can mould into just about any role. She’s bold and above all she speaks the language fluently. I was looking for a heroine who can speak flawless Malayalam. I insist that the heroine must know the language because we will be capturing the original sound,” he says. About his own production, he says, “It will be an extension, not a sequel to Madilugal (a film that won Mammootty a national award).” Without exaggeration Mammootty has introduced more than 50 new directors. But he won’t pick anything that anyone lays before him. He’s choosy and very finicky about his roles, “Every new director works very hard on his first script. They must be encouraged. The least I can do is to introduce them and act in it,” he observes.  And as always, there’s no dearth of films for this actor. He will be seen as an unscrupulous police officer in August 15, a sequel of Sibi Malayil’s 1988 movie August 1. In Best Actor, Mammootty plays the role of a school master who aspires to be an actor. Does the school master succeed? “That’s for you to go and watch the movie,” he wraps up.

Written by Rabz

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