Mohanlal

Who is Mohanlal?

Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair, known as Mohanlal, is an Indian film actor and producer best known for his work in Malayalam films.

Mohanlal made his acting debut in Thiranottam but the film was unreleased then due to censorship issues, it got released later, after 25 years, in five theaters. He followed that by a role as the antagonist in his first release Manjil Virinja Pookkal at the age of 20. Mohanlal has also acted in a number of Tamil and Bollywood films. Of these, his notable roles were in Iruvar, directed by Mani Ratnam, and Company, directed by Ram Gopal Varma. As well as being an actor and producer, Mohanlal also owns businesses involved in film distribution, restaurants and packaged spices.

He was elected as most popular Keralite in a 2006 online poll conducted by CNN-IBN on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Kerala's formation. In 2001, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, for his contributions to Indian cinema. He has won four Indian National Film Awards — two Best Actor Awards, one Special Jury Award for acting, and one Award for Best Film as producer along with six Kerala State Film Awards for Best Actor. In 2009, he became the first actor to be given the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army of India and in 2010 received an honorary doctorate from Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kerala.