The cheeky young man who once gave me one-word answers grew into a philosophical, detached star yet remained simple and humble, never letting stardom steal his heart, notes Rediff's Shobha Warrier who first interviewed the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner in 1987.
Let me start with a disclaimer first. I am not writing a study on Mohanlal, the actor. Enough and more has been written on his competence and accomplishments as an actor.
These are my observations of Mohanlal the person based on the many meetings and conversations I had with him over the years.
I admit I am yet to get tired of watching his films made by Bharatan, M T Vasudevan Nair, Hariharan, Lohitadas, Padmarajan, Sibi Malayil, most of the early films of Sathyan Anthikad and a few by Priyadarshan, mostly the films made in the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.
The first time I interviewed Mohanlal was in 1987 when he had not become the superstar or the legendary actor that he is now. But he was already described by many well-known filmmakers as the most promising young talent.
I was living in Coimbatore then. When I came to know that he had come to the Arya Vaidya Pharmacy (AVP) for Ayurvedic treatment, I used my proximity to the Warrier family that runs AVP to interview him.
I was in for a pleasant surprise when I saw writer-director Padmarajan with Mohanlal.
It was a kind of a fan-girl moment for me as I adored the films made by Padmarajan, relished the dialogues written by him and unabashedly loved the unusual characters created by him. And idolised him as a short story writer.
So, I was over the moon when he said he enjoyed reading a short story of mine! We then started talking about the books we read, the writers we liked and the films that impressed us.
I also had a lot of questions about his latest film, Thoovana Thumbikal, which had Mohanlal in the lead role.
As our conversation went on and on, Mohanlal cheekily said, "I thought you came to interview me!!!"
That was Mohanlal in his twenties, like the characters he had portrayed in films: Simple, guileless, unassuming and maybe a little naughty.
But it was a nightmare interviewing him then as his answers were either a word or at the most a sentence!
The nightmare continued for some more time.
I noticed a remarkable change in 1997. This was what I wrote about him then: 'It is very difficult to pin Mohanlal down for an interview. It is even more difficult to make him answer questions. But it is very easy to like him for he is one of the most genuine, unassuming and unpretentious film stars in India.'
Perhaps, that is the reason I interviewed him again and again and again while enjoying the process immensely.
He might have been stingy with words, but he was charming, frank and funny at times.
Mani Ratnam's Iruvar was going to be released at that time, and he was acting as MGR. It was also Aishwarya Rai's first film. So, there was a lot of interest in him in the Tamil media.
When I went to meet him at his home in Chennai, he was in the middle of an interview to a Tamil weekly. The moment he saw me, he excused himself to the interviewer (much to his shock) and came to the verandah to greet me. "After a long time we meet again," he said.
The other journalist, bowled over by Mohanlal's humility and simple lifestyle, told me after he finished the interview, "I cannot believe he is a superstar. He is a far cry from the film personalities that we see here. He is so humble, so simple and so sweet."
He was in for another shock when Mohanlal picked up the empty tea cups and took them to the kitchen.
I noticed that he was not the same happy-go-lucky, careless person I met the first time. More philosophical and detached from successes and failures.
When did this transformation take place?, I asked him.
He answered with a laugh, "I think it was after your interview in Coimbatore that I changed! Maybe the shock you gave me changed my outlook on life!"
"Jokes apart, when I was undergoing treatment in Coimbatore, I had the good fortune to talk to Krishna Kumar (of the Arya Vaidya Pharmacy) for hours about so many things. I interacted with many such people there."
"My maternal uncle has also been a big influence in my life."
"I now detach myself from everything. A film will be a hit or a flop in spite of my worrying about it. I am not bothered about the success or failure of my films. Not once have I tried to find out when a film of mine would release or whether it succeeds at the box office. Most of the time, I am unaware of the release of my films."
"Basically, I am that kind of a person. Even when I was young, I never felt extreme feelings. Yes, later on I tried to cultivate this feeling of detachment so that I don't experience any shocks in life. Now nothing jolts me, nothing shocks me."
He also admitted, "I am a very lazy person. I like to sit doing nothing, absolutely nothing."
But then what does he do for relaxation. "I am always relaxed. So I don't have to do anything in particular to feel relaxed."
While most actors in India went ga-ga over an opportunity to work in a Mani Ratnam film, I found him not that exuberant or excited.
This was his matter-of-fact answer on his experience of working with Mani Ratnam.
"I didn't see any change in Mani Ratnam (Mohanlal had acted in Mani Ratnam's second film) and the way he works. He works the same way, talks the same way; nothing has changed. In the last 12 years, he has done only 14 films or so."
"I had noticed then that he had a keen observation about the process of acting. Now also he gives a lot of importance to subtle actions and reactions. Then, of course, you improve after each film. I feel Iruvar will be one of the best movies made by him. The way he has made this film is quite novel and also very good."
The only time I saw him excited about a film was after he came back from the Cannes film festival with Shaji N Karun's Vaanaprastham. He was not just an actor in the film but also a co-producer.
Generally an undemonstrative person, that time he proudly showed me a personal album on the various Kathakali costumes he had donned for Vaanaprastham.
Vaanaprastham was so special to him that in his new home, he had set aside a room just for the film, lining its walls with posters of the film that were displayed at Cannes, and other memorabilia from the festival.
A person who was usually reluctant to talk about his films, he tirelessly talked about Vaanaprastham.
"What gives me immense pride is the fact that I am the producer of the film. Had somebody else been the producer of the film, we would have had to make a lot of compromises. As I am the producer and since I am also acting in the film, I have tried to shape it as beautifully as possible, without any compromises."
He had told me earlier that he never prepared for any role, but I was shocked when he said he didn't prepare to play a Kathakali artist.
"It is not necessary to prepare for a role. I cannot do that. I don't even think about the character before and after a shot."
"My way of acting is reacting to a particular situation. An actor exists between 'action' and 'cut'. Most of the time, an actor is a person, his real self. I like to be the person most of the time, not the actor. An actor's job is only to react to a particular situation."
The change in him over the years was noticeable. He became expressive and learnt to articulate his feelings eloquently.
The cheeky and hesitant man of few words became an outspoken philosophical and detached actor as he grew older.
But he remained simple and humble till I met him last, which was more than a decade ago.
I do not know whether he has changed, whether he attends his phone calls even now, whether he picks up empty tea cups or gets up when you enter the room.
With superstardom, he might have changed too. I don't know.
Once I had asked him, will you ever get bored of acting?
"I don't think so. I love my profession so much that I will never feel bored. People might get bored of me after some time and throw me out!"
Of course, that did not happen. Even after more than four decades, the people of Kerala -- generation after generation -- have not got bored of him. In fact, their love for him has not lessened even a bit.
No wonder after accepting the Dadasaheb Phalke Award last week, he touched his heart and said, 'Ente hridayathinte spandanamanu Cinema.'
Perhaps, that is what makes Mohanlal unique.
P.S. When I met him for the first time in 1987, I had told him that my 3-year-old son was so obsessed with the 'telephone uncle' who sang Raaree Raariram Raaro over the phone to the 3-year-old Deepamol (in Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare), that he would not go to sleep unless we played the song again and again every night.
I also told him that after playing that scene on the video player umpteen times, the tape was on the verge of snapping!
I then asked him whether he would meet my son after the interview. He gladly met his young fan and asked him, "Are you happy to see telephone uncle in person? Want me to sing Raaree Rariram Raaro for you?" My son Siddhu was so shocked to see his 'telephone uncle' come out of the screen that he stood there perplexed.
That 3 year old is a man now and sings Raaree Rareeram Raaro to his 3 year old!
That, I think, is the timeless Mohanlal magic!
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
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