Mohanlal’s Dadasaheb Phalke Award: 45 years, 5 National Awards, why Malayalam’s Complete Actor truly deserves the honour

Mohanlal's Dadasaheb Phalke Award: Let’s trace the actor’s illustrious career trajectory, spanning over four decades, which is marked by five National Awards, that more than justifies the honour.

Mohanlal wins Dadasaheb Phalke Award

September 20, 2025, turned out to be a day to rejoice and remember for Malayalis world over and fans of Malayalam cinema. Mohanlal, hailed as the Complete Actor of Malayalam, was bestowed with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, joining the most elite group of film actors and technicians that the Indian cinema has ever seen. There is little doubt in anyone’s mind as to why Mohanlal, Malayali’s own Lalettan, truly deserves the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, but let’s backtrack and trace the actor’s illustrious career trajectory, spanning over four decades which is marked by five National Awards, that more than justifies the honour.

Mohanlal honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award

Malayalam superstar Mohanlal was chosen for the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award on Saturday, making him only the second Malayali to receive the honour after auteur filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan who was bestowed with the honour in 2004. Hailing from Kerala's capital, Thiruvananthapuram, Mohanlal is cherished as a state treasure who commands a legion of fans from across the country, including even stars from other states. Mammootty and others pour in congratulatory messages and much love on Mohanlal, who began his tryst with the silver screen over 40 years ago with Manjil Virinja Pookkal helmed by Fazil, a debutant himself.

On Christmas day in 1980, Malayalis saw a chubby-cheeked Naredran with a ‘straight-line’ moustache, marking the dawn of one of the illustrious careers on screen. But the cherubic looks notwithstanding, Mohanlal’s Narendran was a vile villain, who threatened to wreck the life of Prabha (Poornima). The film’s hero was Shankar, one of the prolific names of the 80s, but soon to be overshadowed by Mohanlal and Mammootty, whose reign continues even 40 years later.

Mohanlal The Complete Actor

Even his industry competitors have acknowledged that Mohanlal is one of the rare actors who can not only emote any emotion convincingly but also ace action sequences, and dance gracefully. The veteran has also lent his voice to popular songs, even for other actors when he crooned Kaithapoovin for actor Abbas in Manju Warrier-led Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu in 1999.

Also read: Dadasaheb Phalke Award: Before Mohanlal, who were conferred with the prestigious recognition, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, and others

Mohanlal’s 5 National Award wins

Mohanlal’s journey in Malayalam also coincides with the golden period of Malayalam cinema, largely attributed to the years from mid 1980s to the 1990s. This is also evident in the National honours that came his way with four of his five accolades, belonging to the period from 1989 to 1999.

Mohanlal garnered a special mention for his stellar performance in Sibi Malayil's Kireedam in 1989 as Sethumadhavan, an innocent youth who dreams of becoming a cop but ends up killing a dreaded goon. Bharatham, another Sibi Malayil film in 1991, fetched him the National Award for Best Actor for his touching portrayal of musician Gopi, who is unable to mourn for his older brother Raman’s (Nedumudi Venu) death for the sake of his family. The song 'Ramakadha, rendered by the legendary KJ Yesudas, was picturised on Mohanlal, fully conveying the emotional anguish of the character that moved viewers to tears.

Vanaprastham, which premiered at the Cannes in 1999, was the third film to bring the National Award honour for Mohanlal but this time not only as the Best Actor but also as producer of the Shaji N Karun directorial. Then there was a long break before National Awards returned to Mohanlal over 1.5 decades later in 2016, where he secured the Special Jury Award for his performance in three films - Jr NTR's Telugu film Janatha Garage, the heartwarming Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol and the blockbuster Pulimurugan.

Apart from National honour, Mohanlal has also won as many as nine state Awards and many Filmfare awards. Not just these award-winning performances, Mohanlal's career is marked by many more fabulous performances in acclaimed films such as the heart-wrenching Sadayam, the hugely popular Rajavinte Makan, and the more recent hit film Thudarum. Through these 45 years in cinema, Mohanlal has also made a mark in other languages with Ram Gopal Varma’s Company and Mani Ratnam’s Iruvar, being his notable outings in Hindi and in Tamil.

FAQs

Q. Which movies did Mohanlal win national awards for?

A. Mohanlal won the National Awards for Kireedam Bharatham, and Vanaprastham. He also won a special jury mention for his performance in Janatha Garage, Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol and Pulimurugan in 2016. All these films are available on OTTplay Premium

Q. Who won the 47th Dadasaheb Phalke Award?

A. Actor Manoj Kumar won the 47th Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

Q. Which is the No 1 Film Award in India?

A. Dadasaheb Phalke Award is the highest film honour in Indian cinema. Malayalam actor Mohanlal was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award recently.

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