What we see in him today is not just stardom, but the reflection of his sincerity, humility, and an artist who carries the fragrance of his roots, asserts K R Nayar, who has known the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner from their school and college days.
Soon after Mohanlal received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, most news articles written about him hailed and elaborated his acting skills.
I believe it was not his skill alone that won him laurels, but his character, especially how he grew up thinking differently right from his school days.
Having been his schoolmate at the Model School and collegemate at MG College in Thiruvananthapuram, and played cricket together too, it seemed like he was learning all through his journey from everyone and from every incident during his younger days.
Many have remarked that acting is very natural to him, but what he did was nothing but extend all that he did in school, college, and as a team-mate, with his friends, on to the screen.
Watching him on screen today feels like watching life itself being mirrored with effortless grace.
Like many of his friends and mates, today, I too feel very proud of him.
Mohanlal has joined the list of greats of Indian cinema like Raj Kapoor, Lata Mangeshkar, Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan, all of whom have received this award and are hailed as legends.
I wish I had known that someday my school mate and the person who played cricket with me would go on to be considered one among these legends.
The heights that Mohanlal has reached and the respect he has earned as an actor is undoubtedly an inspiration for all of us.
What we see in him today is not just stardom, but the reflection of his sincerity, humility, and an artist who carries the fragrance of his roots.
Ask Mohanlal how he climbed to such great heights as an actor, and he often remarks that it is a God-given gift.
Almost anyone who has been a witness to his journey to stardom right from his early days will agree that his commitment to work hard on his gift is what has got him a place among the greats.
As a cricket writer, I have rarely interviewed him about his acting. But the few times I did for the newspaper I worked for, were fascinating.
Once, when I asked him about the awards and recognition that had come his way, he said: "I am happy with recognition. More than anything, I am happy that my films are well received by the people."
Mohanlal's humility to give the spotlight back to his fraternity by dedicating the Dadasaheb Phalke Award to the Malayalam film industry and its artists defines his greatness as much as his screen presence.
One of the big qualities in him is his love and affection for those with whom he has been associated for years. For him, that person need not have achieved a lot.
It could simply be someone he knew from his growing up years or someone who has played a role in guiding him step onto the road to greatness.
Director and writer Ashok Kumar, who introduced Mohanlal to cinema through the film Thiranottam in 1978, is one such person.
When this film was being shot, it was one of the big happenings in and around the place where we lived in Thiruvananthapuram.
Ashok even shared the very first shot of Mohanlal, who acted as a mentally challenged servant, with me.
Mohanlal, in a recent interview, had mentioned that had Ashok not introduced him to the industry, he may not have got the opportunity to act in films.
The role played by another of his schoolmates, Producer G Suresh Kumar, has been equally acknowledged by Mohanlal. They entered the film industry together in their early twenties along with Director Priyadarshan.
In 2017, Suresh invited me to watch one of Mohanlal's dramas, Chayamukhi at the Nishagandhi auditorium in Thiruvananthapuram.
That day, I remember asking Suresh the reason behind Mohanlal's huge success as an actor, and he said it was his commitment and willingness to work very hard.
"I haven't seen anyone who can focus so much on how to better his skill," he'd remarked.
Mohanlal's love and affection toward whoever he comes across and has been with since his early days is another quality that endears him to many.
Actor Nandalal Krishnamoorthy also grew up in and around Thycaud in Thiruvananthapuram and is someone who has acted in many films with Mohanlal.
They got acquainted with each other at the late legendary musician M G Radhakrishnan's home that was a magnet for music lovers.
When Nandalal was asked as to what was that spark he had seen in Mohanlal from his younger days, he pointed out that it was his devotion to the craft.
"Mohanlal can forego anything to give his best. However great he has become, even now he is punctual for his shooting. Even if he has slept late, he will never miss a schedule," said Nandalal, whose first movie with him was Sarvakalashala and later Yuvajanotsavam.
Today, even though Mohanlal is a superstar, his affection toward Nandalal remains the same.
It's not that Mohanlal shows affection only to those he knows from his early days. For him, everyone is a good human being.
I still remember the day he informed us that his movie Manjil Virinja Pookal was being shown at the MP theatre in Thiruvananthapuram, and that we should all go and watch it.
Mohanlal was on his bike and passing by when he saw us friends hanging around near a grocery store after our evening practice at the Caravan Cricket Club.
We were all in awe of him after watching the movie. That "wow" he generated among us has never subsided despite the many years that have passed since that day.
His sincerity to his past colleagues and friends is what he shows while acting in any role.
Many a times one gets the feeling that his gestures, dialects, comic timing, and mannerisms in his movies are no different from what he would do when he was with us.
That is why his comedy roles in most movies never looked forced, and his dialogues do not sound theatrical.
The ability to convey subtle shifts in emotion with a twitch of the eye, a half-smile, or a pause, are all skills developed by actors over time.
For Mohanlal, these came naturally, something as natural that he would do with his friends.
If one interacts with Nandalal or playback singer M G Sreekumar (someone he knew from his younger days and M G Radhakrishnan's brother), it is easy to spot these traits in the manner they talk and interact.
Mohanlal's life is a lot similar to many of the roles he has played for the last four decades without any exaggeration.
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is not just for portraying characters as they are meant to be but for breathing life into them from his own past experiences.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
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