Malayalam cinema will forever be indebted to these two marvelous acting prodigies for promoting in their prime the movement that made meaningful cinema mainstream with their friendly faces that have now long become household emotions for every Malayali family. There were times when directors waited for years on end to bag their dates and their films have never disappointed their producers, even when it came to those movies that were merely constructed around their enormous stardom in the . They may both be currently grappling with that stardom’s midlife crises and random film choices thereof, but considering their remarkable oeuvre over careers lasting decades and the genius that shines through their occasional films even today, we should cut them some slack in hopes of a smooth transitioning into a direction that will continue to give us similar memorable moments in their respective journeys ahead. There are over a staggering fifty films they shared screen-space in, and following is a list of some of them still worth your time. By no means does this listing claim to merit equal screen time for both actors similar to what Fazil attempted with the blatant Harikrishnans.
10. Nanayam 1983
In order to relish I.V. Sasi’s Nanayam in this day and age you may have to reserve your judgment for the formulaic story arc, chauvinistic writing and a whole lot of shenanigans that hasn’t aged too well. But this film made it to the list only based on the sheer merit of having exhibited the incredible bonding between the two men early on in their career playing two half-brothers pitted against each other in difficult times.
9. Gandhi Nagar 2nd Street 1986
Predominantly a Mohanlal film, the climactic cameo by Mammootty, who by the way also produced this comedy, imparted the required bearing to a character that was touted throughout the narrative, and was also pivotal in steering the course of the story towards that satisfying ending. Mohanlal plays the phony Gurkha employed to watch a residential colony and Mammootty enters as the ‘Gulf Malayali’ who comes to his rescue as the husband to a kindergarten teacher who is one of the few friends he makes there.
8. Vartha, 1986
One of the screenplays by T. Damodaran addressing the omnipresent corruption in the system, and one of many he wrote for I.V. Sasi, Vartha featured both Mammootty and Mohanlal along with Seema and Rahman weaving a complex tale about contemporary politics, media and the lives that get trampled in the tug between the two.
7. No. 20 Madras Mail 1990
This is one of the best murder mysteries in Malayalam cinema starring Mohanlal with Mammooty playing a significant extended cameo as a fictionalized version of himself, and the fateful train journey in the titular express train that ends in murder is singularly notable for the comical rendezvous between the two stars.
6. Poomukhapadiyil Ninneyum Kaathu 1986
Bhadran’s family drama vividly captures the tremors within a dysfunctional family headed by an extremely unhappy couple played by Mammootty and a brilliant Srividya whose appalling wife is hard to forget. Mohanlal with a stutter figures as her incorrigible brother called in for assistance but ends up making matters worse.
5. Kariyila Kaattu Pole 1986
Another murder mystery featuring the two actors, where Mohanlal investigates the killing of Mammootty who plays an eminent film director surrounded by enough people who loathed him, and many of them capable to kill.
4. Adiyozhukkukal 1984
A bunch of unfortunate characters thrown into the scrap heap by unfortunate incidents and their struggle against the hostile circumstances forms the plot of the film. Mammooty won Kerala State Film Award for best actor playing one of them, an unruly fisherman released from prison alongside Mohanlal as an unemployed man who turns up as a friend in need.
3. Aalkoottathil Thaniye 1984
Mohanlal’s sociable hostel roommate to Mammootty’s protagonist may be a cameo, who appears only in a few scenes, but his entry into pivotal scenes raising important questions was integral to the narrative and their camaraderie and warmth was important to reflect the closeness of their relationship inside of a few scenes.
2. Idanilangal 1985
Although a runaway woman called Chinnammu played by Seema is central to the plot, the characters of both Mammootty and Mohanlal are integral to the film, and plays two men who start off on the wrong foot and continue to remain at loggerheads throughout the run with various instances of physical altercations where both men are literally at each other’s throats.
1. Anubandham 1985
As two men linked by a common tragedy, Mohanlal and Mammootty excel in this M.T. drama directed by I.V. Sasi. Mammootty’s graceful refrain and Mohanlal’s elusive interpretation rendered this poignant tale about survival with the fitting realism that the master storyteller warranted.
