During this period of his career, film makers cashed in on the immense popularity that Mohanlal enjoyed in Kerala by portraying him as an invincible larger-than-life hero in movies. Movies like Aaram Thamburan, Narasimham, Naran used this image of his to great effect and became blockbusters. After their initial novelty, these films faced criticism from many quarters over their lack of realism and for creating movies around Mohanlal[citation needed]. Priyadarshan's Kalapani, an account of India's freedom struggle against the British that focused on the Cellular prisons of Andaman islands and Lohithadas's Kanmadam were some of his notable films during the late 90's. In 1997 Mohanlal's film Guru directed by Rajiv Anchal (which was based on communalism in Kerala) was selected by the Government of India as official entry for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
It was at this time that Mohanlal started getting noticed outside the Malayalam speaking world. He acted in his first non-Malayalam movie when popular director Mani Ratnam roped him in for the Tamil film Iruvar. It had Mohanlal playing MGR, a cult figure in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu. The Indo-French production, Vaanaprastham, in which he played the role of a Kathakali dance artist with an identity crisis, won him the second National award for Best actor and was the first film that got him international recognition. The film was selected for the competitive section at the Cannes film festival and his performance was critically acclaimed.[8]
In 2002, Mohanlal acted in his first Bollywood movie, Company, which introduced him to the wider Hindi speaking audience in India. It was a critical and commercial hit.[9] In 2006, the film Thanmathra ("Molecule"), won him the Kerala state award for best actor for portraying a person affected by Alzheimer's disease. His second Bollywood movie Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, was the remake of the 1975 blockbuster movie Sholay, in which he played the character of the inspector played by Sanjeev Kumar in the original. Mohanlal won the 2007 Kerala state award for Best Actor for his performance as Valiakathu Moosa in the movie Paradesi. [10] Mohanlal completed 30 years in the film industry on 3 September 2008.
National award winning role as a kathakali artist in Vaanaprastham Mohanlal does not have a theatre background. He debuted on the stage as Karna in Karnabharam, a Sanskrit play that was premiered in Delhi as part of the National Theatre Festival. The play depicts Karna's mental agony a day before the Kurukshetra war, when he thinks about his past and his faith.[11]
Kadhayattam, was a presentation enacted by Mohanlal, depicting 10 unforgettable characters and situations selected from Malayalam literature. He has said that it is his offering to his mother tongue. The presentation was a fusion of stage acting, movie expression, sound and lighting techniques and music, conceived by film director T.K. Rajeev Kumar.[12]
Chayamukhi is Mohanlal's latest play under the banner 'Kalidasa Visual Magic' - a production house promoted jointly by Mohanlal and another well-known Malayalam actor Mukesh.[13]
In 2008, Mohanlal starred in the mega movie Twenty:20 which cast all the prominent actors of Malayalam film industry. On the release of the movie in November 08, controversy was triggered by Mohanlal fans accusing that Mohanlal was not given prime position in movie's posters where he appears slightly behind rival Mammootty. Despite the controversy, movie started with huge initial collection and good reviews.
"Red Chillies", his first release of 2009 came out on valentine's day is expecting to be a major hit in the industry since no other movies are out now for competition. Its an action oriented film in which he plays a role of a FM-radio station owner. The film is directed by Shaji Kailas who have done many such films with the actor, many of them have broken collection records in box office.
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