Mohanlal made his acting debut in 1978 with the film Thiranottam which was created by Mohanlal and his friends: Maniyan Pilla Raju, Suresh Kumar, Unni, Priyadarshan, Ravi Kumar and others. Mohanlal played Kuttappan, a mentally disabled servant in the movie. The film was completed but was never released.
In 1980, Mohanlal was cast in the lead antagonist role in Manjil Virinja Pookkal– the directorial debut of Fazil. The movie became a major hit. Mohanlal's friends had sent his application in response to an advertisement by Navodaya Studio. He was auditioned for the role in front of a panel that included professional directors; two of them gave him poor marks but Fazil and Jijo Appachan liked him. In an interview with Reader's Digest in 2004, Mohanlal said that his looks as a young man might have fit the villain's image. By 1983, Mohanlal was credited in more than 25 feature films most of which had him play negative roles. Films like Ente Mohangal poovaniju, Iniyengilum, Visa, Attakalsham, Kaliyil Alppam Kariyam, Ente mamattikutiiyammakku, Engane Nee marakkum, Unaroo, & Sreekrishnaparunthu changed his villain image. In Sasikumar's Ivide thudangunnu he became a successful hero. Mohanlal played his first comic lead role in an ensemble cast, as a young man in love with a girl whom he mistakenly believes to be rich, in the 1984 comedy Poochakkoru Mookkuthi. It also marked the beginning of Mohanlal-Priyadarshan duo who As of 2011 have worked together in 29 movies. In 1985, he recorded a song for the film Onnanam Kunnil. Uyarangalil, Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu, Boeing Boeing and Aram + Aram Kinnaram were some of his movies in this period.
1986–2000
Mohanlal played very different roles in films "made by the great masters" like G. Aravindan, Hariharan, M. T. Vasudevan Nair, Padmarajan, Bharathan and Lohithadas. Mohanlal, along with the actor and scriptwriter Sreenivasan who played his sidekick in several movies, showcased the angst of unemployed, educated Malayali youth forced to adapt to hostile environments in many realistic social satires, some of which were written by Sreenivasan himself.
In 1986 he starred in T. P. Balagopalan M.A., directed by Sathyan Anthikad, for which he received his first Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor. He portrayed an unemployed young man who shoulders the responsibility of his family. His performance in Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam as a harassed house-owner won him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Malayalam) also. Mohanlal was touted as the new Malayalam superstar after the box-office success of Rajavinte Makan in which he played underworld don Vincent Gomas. He also starred in the tragedy Thalavattom, playing Vinod, a young man who becomes mentally ill upon witnessing his girlfriend's death. Mohanlal appeared in 36 movies in 1986.
The following year, Mohanlal starred with Sreenivasan and Shobana in the Sathyan Anthikad comedy Nadodikkattu, which became a box-office success. Mohanlal and Sreenivasan reprised their roles as the detectives Dasan and Vijayan respectively in the sequels, Pattanapravesham(1988) and Akkare Akkare Akkare(1990). Thoovanathumbikal, directed byPadmarajan, in which he portrayed a person torn between his twin love interests, broke many stereotypes in Indian films, such as the leading man falling in love with a second woman immediately after he is rejected by the first. The romantic comedy, Chithram, released in 1988, played for 365 days in a theatre, becoming the longest running Malayalam movie still which plays full shows daily. Mohanlal won a Kerala State Special Jury Award in 1988 for his acting in the movies Padamudra, Aryan, Vellanakalude Nadu,Ulsavapittennu and Chithram.
In 1989, The combination of writer Lohitha Das and director Sibi Malayil is considered to have produced some of his most haunting roles, his role of Sethu Madhavan, who dreams of becoming a police officer but ends up as a criminal, in the tragedy Kireedam, earned him a National Film Special Jury Award. Mohanlal later recalled that his portrayal of Sethumadhavan's mental agony, commended as a natural performance, was spontaneous and that he "did what Sethumadhavan, my character, would have done in such a situation", adding that acting was "akin to entering another person’s body."
In 1989, he acted in a movie which became a hit in the year, Varavelpu, which tells the story of a man who earned money in overseas and came back to his native to enjoy his life with family. He bought a bus, which changed his life fully. The former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, mentioned the movie as an example for ignorance by Kerala towards global economic changes during the inauguration of Global Investor Meet held at Kochi on 18 January 2003.
In the early 1990s, Mohanlal acted in a number of notable commercial movies, such as His Highness Abdullah, Midhunam and No.20 Madras Mail. His Highness Abdullah was the first movie produced by Mohanlal, under the banner of Pranavam Arts. His romantic comedy Kilukkam (1991) with Revathy is regarded as one of the most popular Malayalam films ever. His role in Bharatham as a Carnatic singer who is burdened by a jealous brother, earned him the National Award for Best Actor in 1991. Although not trained in classical dance, he portrayed a Bharatanatyam dancer in Kamaladalam(1992). He took help from his choreographer and his co-actors Vineeth and Monisha for enacting the dance scenes. Rajashilpi, Sadayam, Yoddha and Vietnam Colony were the other successful movies of Mohanlal in the same year. The 1993 drama Devaasuram, written by Ranjith and directed by I. V. Sasi, was one of Mohanlal's most successful films and is regarded as a cult classic. In 1994, Mohanlal starred along with Shobana and Suresh Gopi in Fazil's Manichitrathazhu in the lead role as a psychiatrist. The film was a critical and commercial success, and became one of the highest grossing Malayalam films. Sphadikam was his major commercial success in 1995. Mohanlal won his third Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor and fifth Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Malayalam) for his portrayal as a young man who becomes a thug, estranged from his father, upon failing to meet the latter's high expectations.
Priyadarshan's Kaalapani, an epic film about the prisoners in Cellular Jail of Port Blair and Lohithadas's Kanmadam (1998) are among the notable commercial successes in the second half of the decade. In 1997, he played the lead role in Guru directed by Rajiv Anchal. The film was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category for 1997.
Mohanlal's first non-Malayalam movie was the Tamil biopic Iruvar directed by Mani Ratnam in which he starred opposite debutant Aishwarya Rai. The controversial film, in which Mohanlal depicted an actor who turns politician (based on M. G. Ramachandran), was a critical success and won many awards including Best Film award at the Belgrade International Film Festival and two National Film Awards.
In 1998, he produced and starred in Harikrishnans alongside Mammootty and Juhi Chawla. The film was a commercial success but was not received well by critics. The movie had two versions of climaxes which were screened in different regions based on whether Mohanlal or Mammootty was more popular there. This, however, became controversial when lawsuits were filed claiming that prints exhibited in Hindu-dominated areas showed Mohanlal marrying the heroine, whereas the ones in Muslim-dominated areas showed Mammootty marrying her.
Mohanlal depicted a Kathakali artist whose personal life is a tragedy in the 1999 Indo-French period drama Vanaprastham directed by Shaji N. Karun. Since Mohanlal was not trained in Kathakali – a dance-drama form indigenous to Kerala, he took tips from reputed Kathakali dancers to essay the role, for which he received his second National Film Award for Best Actor, fourth Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor and sixth Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Malayalam). It was also adjudged the best feature film of the year and won the best editing award at National Film Awards. The film was also elected for the competitive section at the Cannes Film Festival and several other international film festivals and won six Kerala State Film Awards.
2000–2009
Many movies made in this period built on Mohanlal's image as an invincible, larger-than-life hero. In 2000, Mohanlal starred in Narasimham playing a rogue with a good heart. It became one of the highest grossing movies in the history of Malayalam cinema. In the next two years, Mohanlal was typecast in similar larger-than-life action hero roles in movies like Ravanaprabhu, Praja, Onnaman, Thandavam and Chathurangam. These movies (except for Ravanaprabhu) were widely criticised for their repetitive plots, lewd dialogues, punch lines and male chauvinistic outlook. "The Narasimham hangover is terrifically strong and it has, at least for the moment, killed the prospects of good films. I don't see any other reason for the failure of well made female-oriented films like Mazha and Madhuranombarakkattu," wrote The New Indian Express.
In 2002, Mohanlal played the role of Sreenivasan IPS, a Mumbai police officer, in his first Bollywood movie, Company, which introduced him to the Hindi-speaking audience in India and for which he won the IIFA Star Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor. The movie dealt with the real life story of two underworld dons who ruled Mumbai played by Ajay Devgn and Vivek Oberoi. Mohanlal's performance was well received. The Hindu noted that the actor is "at his natural best" and "does not look stifled or anxious as other South Indian stars do when they appear in a Hindi movie for the first time". In a 2010 online poll by Hindifilmnews.com, Mohanal's performance in Company was chosen "The Finest Performance Of A Bollywood Actor In The Last Decade (2001–2010)". He was #1 in the audiences' list and maintained #6 in the critics' list.
The following year, Mohanlal, trying to change his action hero image, returned to humour roles with Kilichundan Mampazham, Balettan, Hariharan Pillai Happy Aanu and Mr. Brahmachari. Kilichundan Mampazham, promoted as a comeback vehicle for the actor, received good reviews and box-office collection. Balettan, directed by V. M. Vinu, was also a commercial success. Mohanlal plays the role of Athanipparambil Balachandran, a bank employee always willing to lend a helping hand, who is forced to hide many secrets after his father's death leading to his family's mistrust. In 2004, Natturajavu and Mambazhakkalam were his notable commercial successes.
Mohanlal appeared in the 2005 black comedy Udayananu Tharam as an aspiring film director. Well received by the audience and the critics, the movie did well even in places where Malayalam films do not run in regular shows like Vadodara, Rajkot, Pune and Ahmedabad. In the same year, he appeared in director Blessy's second film Thanmathra, a film that tells the story of an individual suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The film received positive reviews and Mohanlal's performance was highly praised. Mohanlal won his fifth Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor and seventh Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Malayalam) for his performance in a difficult role; his character does not speak in the second-half of the movie.
In 2006, he worked with the director Sathyan Anthikkad, after nearly a decade, in the movie Rasathanthram, was a blockbuster & became one of the highest grossing Malayalam film of the decade. Mohanlal also acted in Kirtichakra by director Major Ravi, in which he plays the role of an Indian Army officer Major Mahadevan. The movie was shot inKashmir. and was a huge blockbuster. A dubbed version of the movie was released in Tamil as Aran, but Mohanlal disassociated himself with the movie since his voice was not used, stating that "I prefer to speak for my role in the film." Mohanlal also acted in the sequels Kurukshetra (2008) and Kandahar (2010) in Major Mahadevan series. Mohanlal's character Major Mahadevan was highly acclaimed by the critics as well as the audience. In 2009 the Indian government conferred him with the honorary title of Lieutenant colonel from Indian Territorial Army considering his performance in the films Kirtichakra and Kurukshetra.
In 2007, Mohanlal won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in the movie Paradesi directed by P.T. Kunju Muhammed. The movie garnered positive reviews, with Sify.com noting that "Mohanlal is mesmerising and reinvents the idiom of acting once more with feeling." His July release Hallo became one of the biggest Malayalam hits in 2007. In August that year, he appeared in his second Bollywood movie, Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, a remake of Bollywood's greatest hit Sholay. Mohanlal played the role played by Sanjeev Kumar in the original, against the criminal Babban Singh played by Amitabh Bachchan. However, the ambitious film was panned by critics, ending up as a huge flop at the box office. In 2009, Mohanlal appeared with Kamal Haasan in the Tamil movie Unnaipol Oruvan, was a success in Tamil box office. His last film in 2009 was Ividam Swargamanu, directed by Roshan Andrews, was a success in theatres.
2010–Present
In 2010, he acted in five films, first film being Janakan a crime thriller which he co-starred with Suresh Gopi directed by Sanjeev N.R and written by S. N Swamy, he played Adv. Surya Narayanan who encounters some run away suspected criminals came for justice. Alexander the Great directed by Murali Nagavally was a comical racy entertainer released in May. Oru Naal Varum directed by T. K Rajeev Kumar scripted by Sreenivasan and produced by Maniyanpilla Raju, was a social satire about the corruption in India. It reunited the much adored classic combo of Mohanlal-Sreenivasan onscreen, and scripted by himself, it was the debut film of Sameera Reddy in Malayalam. His next film was Shikkar a dark revenge thriller directed by M. Padmakumar, in which he played a lorry driver who is hunted by his past. The film became no.1 at the Ramzan boxoffice. Followed up in the end was Kandahar directed by Major Ravi, a war film based on the flight hijacking incident of Indian Airlines Flight 814 in 1999, Mohanlal reprised the role of Major Mahadevan and it was the third installment in theMajor Mahadevan film series. It is the debut Mollywood film of Amitabh Bachan.
His first release of 2011 was the much awaited multi-starrer Christian Brothers an action drama film directed by Joshiy and scripted by Udayakrishna-Siby K. Thomasduo released on 18 March worldwide on 300 screens simultaneously in all releasing centres which was the highest release for a Malayalam film at that time, in which he co-starred with Suresh Gopi, Dileep and Sarath Kumar. This racy entertainer was a commercial success and one of the top grosser of the year. It followed the success formula of 2008 film Twenty:20, the cast and crew behind the scenes re-appeared in the film, the theme and occasions were almost similar. His Vishu release was China Town another multi-starrer co-starred with Jayaram and Dileep, was a comedy entertainer directed by Rafi Mecartin, portrayed the story of love and friendship, despite of mixed reviews, the film ran over 100 days and became one of the highest grosser of the year. His next film was the off-beat romantic drama Pranayam, directed by Blessy which was released on 31 August was a love story between three characters, he shared screen space with Anupam Kher and Jayapradha. The film was highly acclaimed by the critics and Mohanlal's performance as Mathews was well appreciated. His next film, Snehaveedu, was directed by Sathyan Anthikkadu, which was a family movie in the background of a village in Palakkad. For the first time, yesterday's actress Sheela shared screen space with Mohanlal, she essayed the role of his mother. It is credited as Mohanlal's 300th film. The film became a decent hit. His last film of the year was Oru Marubhoomikkadha, directed by Priyadarshan, which was an action-comedy thriller entirely plotted in middle east. It marked the return of Priyadarshan-Mohanlal-Mukesh magical combo of the late 80s and 90s. While shooting in the Al Kateena deserts in Abu Dhabi, Canadian director James Cameron visited the sets for almost three hours and was very impressed with Mohanlal's acting skills and Priyan's use of limited crew. The film was a superhit at the Christmas-New year box office.
In 2012, he was seen in six films, his first release was the much awaited big budget romantic thriller film Casanovva directed by Rosshan Andrrews and written by Bobby-Sanjay, he enacted the role of Casanova a serial womaniser and the owner of Casanova's Eternal Spring, an international chain of flower boutiques. He appeared in a cameo role in the Bollywood movie Tezz released on 27 April directed by Priyadarshan. His next film was B. Unnikrishnan's directorial Grandmaster was a Neo-noir crime thriller, story of a cop who is forced to investigate a series of murders. It created a new cinematic grammar for crime thrillers in Malayalam, the film was very much acclaimed by critics, remarked as a well crafted thriller, and was described as one of the best investigation thrillers in Malayalam. Mohanlal's well tempered, calm and subdued acting was well appreciated by critics. It is the first Malayalam film to be released through Netflix online video streaming by UTV in the U.S. and Canada. Followed up was Spirit directed by Ranjith which centered on the increasing habits of alcoholism in Kerala, the film was exempted from entertainment tax for creating an awareness on social issues faced by the society. It completed 125 days theatrical run in Kerala and became a mega hit. While the Onam festival, released Run Baby Run a comedy thriller film directed by master director Joshiy, featured news media as the background, the film was heavily appreciated by the critics as well as audience, was marked as the example for a well crafted gripping thriller, it became one among the highest grosser of the year. The year ended with Christmas release Karmayodha directed by Major Ravi, an action packed thriller, Mad Maddy an encounter specialist who makes decisions on the spot is assigned to investigate the missing of a teenage school girl in Mumbai. The film dealt with the discrimination against women.
2013 was a remarkable year for Mohanlal, it was the year in which the all time blockbuster of Malayalam film Drishyam released. Although the first quarter was dull, it ended with a bang. His first film of the year was Lokpal, a vigilante thriller in which he played a vigilante nicknamed "Lokpal". It was directed by Joshiy and written byS. N. Swamy. Red Wine directed by Salam Bappu, was a non-linear investigation thriller based on a political murder. Ladies and Gentleman directed by Siddique was a romantic comedy film on the backdrop of IT companies. Geethaanjali, a horror thriller directed by Priyadarsan was a spin-off of Malayalam evergreen classic film Manichitrathazhu, he reprised the role of Dr. Sunny from the original. His last release of 2013 was Drishyam directed by Jeethu Joseph.
160 million (US$2.5 million) brought by Sun TV. The film released over 1150 screens worldwide and 207 screens in Kerala alone, which is the highest release for a single film in Kerala in any language. And earned a 27.3 million (US$430,000) gross in its first day of release in Kerala, which is the highest single day earnings for any film across all languages in the state. Upon release, the film got overwhelming theatrical response and is already entered into the Kollywood's 1 billion club, and completed 100 days thearical run in few theatres in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Mohanlal's first Malayalam release of 2014 was Mr. Fraud, a heist film directed by B. Unnikrishnan. In the next project, he appeared in an extended cameo role in Koothara, a coming-of-age adventurous mystery film set in an untold period, the film focuses on three engineering students and their adventures. Mohanlal played a mysterious character, who at the end revealed as a merman. It was an experimental film directed by Srinath Rajendran and produced by Marikar Films. The films stunning posters, strange name and Mohanlal's unseen different getup made the movie a much awaited films of 2014. Its first look poster has been shortlisted for the International Movie Poster Award. His next venture was a comical political satire film Peruchazhi written and directed by Indian-American film director Arun Vaidyanathan, produced under the banner of Friday Film House, came with a fresh and unfamiliar story telling in Malayalam film industry, film discuss the politics of India and the US, the largest democracies of the world. It's about a young political kingmaker who is assigned to make a governor candidate win the California state gubernatorial elections, there he uses the Indian standard political gimmicks to win the election. The film goes in a logicless narrating style which is foreign to Keralites, even though pictured with an onscreen starting tagline to "keep logic away", the film got undigested among Malayali audience who likes to watch classic political satire films like Sandesham.
He started off 2015 with a Kannada film, Mythri, where his performance as the revenge seeking DRDO scientist, Mahadev was hugely appreciated by the critics and audience alike.