In his speech after receiving the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award from President Draupadi Murmu in New Delhi on September 23, actor Mohanlal stated that he never “dared to dream” that one day he would win the country’s highest cinematic honour. But his artistic journey of close to five decades with over 400 films and five National Film Awards has been nothing short of a dream. At the age of 65 and still going strong, he remains arguably one of the most influential actors of Malayalam cinema. A cultural idol, he has inspired a generation of writers and filmmakers to craft stories around him.

Born in Elanthoor, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, on May 21, 1960, to Viswanathan Nair, a former bureaucrat, and Santhakumari, he nurtured a passion for acting from his school days. In his sixth-g

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