Mohanlal,
one of the most versatile actors of all times, begins every answer
with a philosophy and ends it with a smile.
Q: This year marks the 25th year of your association
with films. How have your evolved as an actor and as a person during
this time?
Mohanlal: Twenty five years in a profession is something
very difficult, especially in an entertainment industry like cinema.
So I should thank all my people who have accepted me as an actor.
I think the credit goes to them. I am just doing my duty. It's my
social commitment as an actor to perform the role and to do justice
to it. And if I am appreciated by those people, I should say thanks
to them for keeping me in this industry for the last 25 years. So
I am nothing .... I am nobody!
And as a person .... well, I started my career at the age of 17. Now
I am 43. So, in the 250 films, I have travelled not only physically,
but also through a lot of minds.
Q: A spiritual journey, you mean?
Mohanlal: Yeah, of course. And I have met a lot of
people and I can call each of them my Guru. I am still heading towards
my destination, though I don't know where. But these people are carrying
me, or unknown energies are carrying me as a person. I line in the
present, and I celebrate every moment of my life. For example, right
now, I am enjoying the conversation with you.
Q: You have said that you had never thought of becoming
an actor. What prompted you to take up your first film,Thiranottam,
which, incidentally, never saw the light of day?
Mohanlal: When I was in Class 6, I became the best
actor in my school. When I was in Class 10 ... pre-degree, I was the
best actor in my college. Some of my friends asked me, 'Can we do
a film?' So I said, 'Yes!' I call it as an accidental co-incidence
or a happening. So it's still happening. (laughs)
Q: You started your mainstream career with a negative
role. Were you not worried that you would be categorised as a villain?
Mohanlal: I don't think there is a kind of stamping
in films, especially in South India. But for an actor to get good
roles, to get chances to get associated with good directors, to have
good colleagues, to get good stories .... I can call it an element
of luck. There is a hidden luck. I don't know how I can explain it
to you. I have got the best of characters, best of directors, best
of colleagues, best stories .... There are many actors who don't have
a chance to expose themselves as good actors because of lack of all
these things. But fortunately, I am blessed with all these. That's
why I said, I am the chosen one, that unknown energies are helping
me.
Q: You seem to believe a lot in destiny and fate.
Mohanlal: Well, I wouldn't call it fate. its not
destiny. It's a happening.
Q: You have maintained that you like comic roles
the best, though most of your award-winning films have seen you playing
intense roles. your comment?
Mohanlal: Actually, to make somebody laugh, to make
somebody cry, to make somebody comfortable is a big task. So again
it's not me. It is, with the help of the script, with the help of
colleagues, with the help of the directors that I am moulded into
that character. I am not the only performer. The ambience is there,
there are a lot of characters. So, with their help, I am succeeding
in those roles. I have done intense roles, I have done comical roles.
I have done buffoonery. I have done a lot of flop films. Yes! It is
not my mistake. it is the mistake of the totality (chuckles). So if
I win for a role, and if the film is a big hit, I can share it with
everybody. And if it is a flop, I want to share it with everybody,
even with the audience.
Q: Your mother said in an interview that she likes
to see you only in comic roles. Any reason?
Mohanlal: You know, all mothers ... they want their
children to be happy (Laughs). They don't want to see their children
crying, getting beaten up by the villain, It's not only my mother
even your mother will want that (Laughs).
Q: Some of your most acclaimed films are the ones
you have produced yourself. How and why did you venture into film
production?
Mohanlal: It is a thought process to create good
films. So, if you want to do different things, you better do it with
your own intelligence and with your own money. So I started my production
company and I think most of my films have done very well, that is,
in an artistic manner, not in the monetary manner!
Q: Your debut venture in Bollywood with the multi-lingual
Kalapani, failed to arouse audience interest,
though it fetched five national awards. Did you dub it in Hindi with
an intention of getting into blockbuster films in Bollywood?
Mohanlal: It is a Malayalam film. We dubbed it in
Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. So, there wasn't any intention like that
at that time.
Q: You won the Best Supporting Actor award for Company.
How did Ram Gopal Varma convince you to do the role?
Mohanlal: Actually, we planned a film long back.
He (Ram Gopal Varma) first came to me with a Telugu film. For Company,
he took may be half an hour! He narrated the story, and it was an
irresistible offer. He just narrated the script, and that's it.
Q: Do you have offers to do more Hindi films?
Mohanlal: Not many. Actually, I don't want to do
Hindi films. They are not my cup of tea. I have done a Tamil film
called Iruvar. People say I portrayed
the role of MGR and it was o convincing. It was an irresistible offer
from Mani Ratnam. It was Aishwarya
Rai's first film. But that was not the attraction, okay? (Laughs)
But see, if a director can convince an actor, and if the story is
good, it's enough for the actor to do the film.
Q: You played Karna in a Sanskrit play, Karnabharam.
How did you manage a Sanskrit play?
Mohanlal: It was a request from the National School
of Drama. it was an honour for me. It was actually an English play.
Then it changed to Malayalam and ended up in Sanskrit. I have done
two shows in Delhi and Mumbai each. It was an amazing experience,
simply because I don't know Sanskrit. an two hours of Sanskrit! I
really think I am the first Indian film actor to do a Sanskrit play.
Q: You have opened your first restaurant in Dubai.
How did that happen?
Mohanlal: It was my dream to have good restaurants.
I love food and I love to cater to people who love good food. It is
again like acting or watching a film, or watching dance. You should
have a respect for food. I want to share it with my fans. it is not
only for the Kerala people. it is for the world. Because of my being
a film personality, people will get curious about it. If I succeed,
I can bring lot of products from Kerala. it is an expansion for the
culture of Kerala.
Q: Director Priyadarshan rates you as the best actor
in the world. Mani Ratnam says you are the most natural actor in India.
During the shooting of Vanaprastham,
a French Technician said that you were born in the wrong side of the
world. if you were to be born in some other country, you may have
already got the Oscar. Of the people who has given you the best compliment?
Mohanlal: Very interesting question. When I am walking
on a street, or I am in a supermarket, and I see a two-year old child
recognising me and saying 'Mohanlal', that's a complement. I have
wanted it, and I have got it.
Q: Do you think you still have something to achieve
as an actor?
Mohanlal: You can't point out the saturation point
for a particular thing. So whatever time God permits me, whatever
time my physical conditions permits me, whatever time my audience
permits me. I will continue to act. After that, I will react.
Courtesy:
Young Times
