Profile via TMDB · Courtesy of TMDB
Mohanlal
Sign in to saveAlso known as Mohanlal Viswanathan, Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair, Mohanlal Nair
Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, producer and playback singer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema and has also occasionally appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Mohanlal has a prolific career spanning over four decades, during which he has acted in more than 400 films. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri in 2001 and Padma Bhushan in 2019, India's fourth and third highest civilian honours, for his contributions to Indian cinema. In 2009, he became the first actor in India to be award
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 13-07-1905
- Died
- 02-04-1981
- Works
- 48
Top works
- Parvādhirāja
- Magadheswari nrutyu-ngana
- Gori dhire dhire chalo Padmasena
- Siddh vaitaal
- Gori dhire chalo Datta Mahattara
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Acting · Elanthoor, Kerala, India
Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair known mononymously as Mohanlal is an Indian actor, producer and singer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema. He made his acting debut in the unreleased movie Thiranottam (1978), which was followed by a role as the lead antagonist in his first release Manjil Virinja Pookkal in 1980, his onscreen debut. Antagonistic parts in several…
Known for
- MEGA 1582027
- Drishyam 3 — Georgekutty2026
- Patriot — Col. Rahim Naik2026
- Thudakkam2026
- Khalifa — Mambarakkal Ahmed Ali2026
- Jailer 2 — Mathew2026
- Patriot Legends Hangout — Actor2026
- Vrusshabha2025
- Kannappa — Kirata2025
- Thudarum — Shanmughan2025
via TMDB
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 1,298
- Total plays
- 10,721
<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Mohanlal">Read more on Last.fm</a>
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- Economic viability of stand-alone solar photovoltaic system in comparison with diesel-powered system for India
· 2002 · cited 159x
- Wisdom in the social crowd
· 2013 · cited 137x
- Continued Treatment Effect of Zoledronic Acid Dosing Every 12 vs 4 Weeks in Women With Breast Cancer Metastatic to Bone
· 2017 · cited 137x
- Serf and turf
· 2012 · cited 128x
- c-Jun N-Terminal Kinases Mediate Reactivation of Akt and Cardiomyocyte Survival After Hypoxic Injury In Vitro and In Vivo
· 2006 · cited 108x
via Crossref · CC0
Key facts
- Person.years_active
- 1978–present
- Person.name
- Mohanlal
- Person.image
- Mohanlal Viswanathan BNC.jpg
- Person.caption
- Mohanlal in 2015
- Person.birth_name
- Mohanlal Viswanathan
- Person.nickname
- Lal, Lalu, Lalettan
- Person.birth_place
- Elanthoor, Kollam, Kerala (present-day Pathanamthitta, Kerala, India)
- Person.education
- Mahatma Gandhi College (BCom)
- Person.works
- Full list
- Person.children
- Pranav Mohanlal, Vismaya Mohanlal
- Person.relatives
- K. Balaji Suresh Balaje B. Unnikrishnan
- Person.awards
- Full list
- Officeholder.embed
- yes
- Officeholder.serviceyears
- 2009–present
- Officeholder.rank
- 10px Lieutenant colonel (Hon.)
- Officeholder.unit
- Territorial Army
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Official website
- www.thecompleteactor.com
- Image
- Mohanlal Viswanathan BNC.jpg
Show 6 more facts
- Commons category
- Mohanlal
- date of birth
- 1960-05-21
- name in native language
- മോഹൻലാൽ
- Commons gallery
- Mohanlal
- start of work period
- 1978-00-00
- social media followers
- 162000
Sources (8)
via Wikidata · CC0
~50 min read
Article
19 sectionsContents
- Early life
- Film career
- Early years (1978–1985)
- Established actor (1986–1999)
- Career expansion and stardom (2000–2009)
- Continued commercial success (2010–2015)
- Career progression and commercial fluctuations (2016–2024)
- Further success and resurgence (2025–present)
- Other projects
- Stage performances
- Goodwill and brand ambassador
- Business and other ventures
- Escape art
- Media image and artistry
- Personal life
- Filmography and discography
- Accolades
- References
- External links
Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, producer and playback singer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema and has also occasionally appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Mohanlal has a prolific career spanning over four decades, during which he has acted in more than 400 films. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri in 2001 and Padma Bhushan in 2019, India's fourth and third highest civilian honours, for his contributions to Indian cinema. In 2009, he became the first actor in India to be awarded the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in the Territorial Army. Mohanlal was named as one of "the men who changed the face of the Indian Cinema" by CNN. In 2025, the Government of India honoured him with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in the field of Indian cinema, for his "outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema."
Mohanlal made his acting debut at age 18 in the Malayalam film Thiranottam in 1978, but the film was delayed in its release for 25 years due to censorship issues. His screen debut was in the 1980 romance film Manjil Virinja Pookkal, in which he played the antagonist. He continued to do villainous roles and rose to secondary lead roles in the following years. By the mid-1980s, he established himself as a bankable leading actor and attained stardom after starring in several successful films in 1986; the crime drama Rajavinte Makan released that year heightened his stardom. Mohanlal prefers to work in Malayalam films, but he has also appeared in other language films. Some of his best known non-Malayalam films include the Tamil political drama Iruvar (1997), the Hindi crime drama Company (2002) and the Telugu film Janatha Garage (2016).