The Hindu Metro Plus Kochi Features Mohanlal book

Citizen Mohanlal

‘Mohanlal: Oru Malayaliyude Jeevitham’ looks into the relationship between Mohanlal and the Malayali

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"Choosing Mohanlal for this study was because of his boy-next-door image"

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Neither is ‘Mohanlal: Oru Malayaliyude Jeevitham’ a fan’s adulation nor is it a regular biography of the superstar. It is much more than all this. The work, jointly written by A. Chandrasekhar and Girish Balakrishnan, focuses on thechange in Malayali sensibility over the past 30 years as reflected through the real and reel life of Mohanlal.

Superstar is primarily a filmy concept, the book finds. In no other field, even in the other genres of art, does one find this phenomenon. “It is created by a triangle comprising the investor or producer, director and the audience,” say the authors.

Tracing the reel life of Mohanlal referring to his films in the late 80s, the roles he has acted, the authors find a clear indication of the social set up in the State. “Take unemployment for instance. Mohanlal in his early films like ‘Kireedom’ reveal the pangs of unemployment. It shows how a young man becomes an anti-social. This becomes so relevant in the present day.”

Choosing Mohanlal for this study was because of his boy-next-door image. “The other male actors were icons but Mohanlal was quite acceptable as one among us. This was an advantage similar to what Rajnikanth always enjoys.” The social, cultural and economic changes are also reflected in Mohanlal’s real life. We see him becoming hi-tech, unapproachable, transforming into a super brand.”

The book also looks into the term ‘Mallu’ and given Mohanlal’s screen presence this term can be closely attributed to him. “We feel there has been no Malayalam actor who has used the ‘mundu’ so effectively as a property in films. It is not that others have not appeared on screen in the ‘mundu’ but no one has done it so portrayed this sensibility so well.”

Instead of meeting Mohanlal fans through associations the authors met them individually. “We did a sampling of fans from all walks of life. The responses were so varied and interesting. There were women who thought of Mohanlal as the son they never had and some as their secret lover. It was a sort of psychological approach to the actor.”

The book, published by Viewpoint, will be released by Resul Pookutty in the presence of Mohanlal at the IMA Hall, Kochi, on October 11 at 6 p.m.

K. PRADEEP
THE HINDU METRO PLUS WEEKEND, KOCHI, 10 Oct 2009.