Malayalam superstar Mammootty, who was in Dubai on Thursday to showcase his new thriller Street Lights, never lets you forget that he’s an icon who has ruled the big screen for over three decades.
His responses were categorically clipped and borderline curt, which prompted a journalist at the press conference to request him not to limit his answers to two words.
Watch: Malayalam superstar Mammootty is in Dubai! Gulf News tabloid! Chief Reporter, Manjusha Radhakrishnan speaks to him about his latest thriller and his long enduring career.
The matinee idol obliged.
His next reply contained four words. But surprisingly anything he did was met with a thunderous applause, indicating the degree of the goodwill that he enjoys among the local media and his devoted fans.
He was relatively more forthcoming when it came to discussing Street Lights, out in the UAE now.
“It’s a thriller that happens in a single night. The treatment of this thriller is different and each character that’s introduced is important to the story… I play a cop,” said Mammootty in an interview with Gulf News tabloid!.
He plays a sharp police officer who’s tasked with figuring out a string of mysterious events that happened during one fateful night.
“I have played many cop roles in my career and my effort is to make each role different.”
His secret to his long innings is his unending passion towards his work and his relentless hard-work.
The award-winning actor, who has constantly reinvented himself in films such as Munariyuppu, in which he played a lethal serial killer, and a sharp sleuth in CBI Diaries series, continues to remain a formidable force in Malayalam cinema.
“I have been here almost 36 years and it’s a task to be relevant. But if you have passion you can pull it off for a long time,” he said.
The father to the young established actor Dulquer Salmaan is also open to the idea of new blood being injected into Malayalam cinema.
“New blood keeps coming. You cannot resist it. After thirty years, I have seen a new generation come and it’s a blissful thing,” said Mammootty.
Ask him if he will unite with his son as actors on a film, and he shrugs it off with ‘I cannot predict that,” and claims that they haven’t found a suitable project yet.
According to him, the father-son duo rarely discuss shop at home and prefer to discuss ‘domestic issues”.
His waning amicability diminished even further when Gulf News tabloid! broached the subject of the burning topic of sexual harassment at workplace and the #MeToo campaign.
“It’s nothing to do with the film discussion that is going on. I will take another occasion to speak about it,” said Mammootty, hastily sidestepping the topic.
While he may not be game to answer sticky questions or take one for the women’s cause, the superstar is happy to talk up his new film. On January 26, he will head to Abu Dhabi’s Dalma Mall at 6.30pm to promote his thriller.
Street Lights is out in the UAE cinemas now.
