'The land that made me who I am': Mohanlal gets emotional at honour in TVM

Thiruvananthapuram: “I am more emotional standing here in Thiruvananthapuram than I was in Delhi while accepting the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. This is the very soil where I was born, grew up and spent my teenage years,” said Mohanlal, and the capital city erupted in excitement.

Thousands showered love with chants of `Nenjinakathu Lalettan' (Mohanlal in the heart). The audience was already on a high as Mohanlal made the entry in filmy style, clad in a jubba and pants, with a gold bracelet to complete the look.

“This is the very soil where I was born and brought up and where I spent my teenage years. The place where my mother, father and brother lived. The land where I lived with them, with scant concern for life’s complexities. The wind, the trees, the roads and the many aged buildings here are part of my memories and soul. The reception accorded to me here is by Kerala, its people and the government they elected, who made me the man I am today. The acting prowess I have acquired over the years is proving inadequate to disguise my emotional state now.”

“I was looking back at the roads I’ve travelled over the last 48 years. I feel scared now, thinking that here on the streets of this city, a few of us friends once decided to make a movie, though we had no clue about the complex art form called cinema. We took the train to Madras to fulfil that dream. We made rounds of the cinema studios there. Despite my reluctance, my friends took my photograph and sent it to my dear Fazil, whom we lovingly call ‘Paachikka.’ Thus, I ended up in front of the camera as Narendran in Manjil Virinja Pookkal. Forty-eight years.”

“I was in front of the camera just before I came here. I am awestruck by the paths I’ve been guided through by fate. If the art of acting is to be considered a great river, I am just a leaf that fell into it from the branch of a tree on its banks. Whenever that leaf was drowned in the current, many invisible hands rescued it. They were all talented hands... great writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, the ones who applied greasepaint to my face and lit it up... My dear Malayalis, who watched everything I did without growing bored. The ones who energised me whenever I doubted whether this was my calling. I am still being carried by the unending current of that great river.”

“Someone keeps lifting me up whenever I get drowned. They keep telling me to continue my journey. Whom should I thank? Along with my acting journey, I keep watching the journey of this society and its astounding changes. How we have changed! Our dressing, language, relationships, tastes, dreams, the ways we appreciate things, economic conditions, cultural approaches, our imaginations of love, politics, lifestyles... everything has changed beyond recognition. From watching movies while munching on peanuts in hot and humid theatres, we are now watching films lying down in cool and cosy multiplexes.”

“Our children’s friends are no longer limited to classmates sitting next to them in school. They are celebrating universal friendships. Every art form has changed with time. The narrative style of cinema itself has changed. Technology has changed. I feel the blessings and care of some invisible force when I think about how I continued my journey amid such changes. I don’t even know what name to give that force. But I humbly realise that I would not have lasted this long without it.”

“I believe that everyone who has been in acting long enough prays for one thing: that they do not let them continue until they bore the people who keep watching them. Characters are the shield that protects actors from the boredom of the audience. Writers create those characters. Filmmakers direct them, and cinematographers film them. An actor is just a fistful of clay. When touched by great talents, that clay takes many forms. The actor performs his duty with a prayer that the audience may like it. Like any other artist, I have faced many ups and downs. I have been praised to the skies and condemned to limitless criticism. I view both with the same equanimity.”

“Many used to say that Mohanlal acts so effortlessly. However, the truth is that acting is not at all effortless for me. Even now, when I change from one character to another, I come before the camera with a silent prayer to God. A prayer to help me pull off that character is always there in my mind. If people who watch me feel that I am acting effortlessly, then it is the blessing of a force which I have not been able to identify to this day. I had said that work is my God when I visited Kochi after receiving the award. When you do something with dedication for long periods, you become that very thing.”

“That is a peculiar state. The ego of ‘I’ gets washed away. I have taken on that duty. Thereafter, I don’t feel the hubris of my performance. Its result does not make me excessively happy or sad. It’s a high state, of an individual becoming a mere tool; a state of life becoming a mission. For me, that state is acting. Hence, that is my God. While an artist receives awards, they ultimately reach the society that has played a big role in shaping them. Without spectators, that artist would never have been born. I was always aware of that, and that’s why I always used to say that Malayalis deserve all the awards I receive.”

“This award is no different. I dedicate this award to the expansive showcase of our culture, enriched with many such great honours. I count this reception as the reception by Kerala. I place it close to my heart as the reception accorded by Thiruvananthapuram. At this moment, I remember in my heart my father and brother who are no longer here. I remember my mother, who always loved this city, and my family, who have always been my pillar of support. I remember all my friends who attach so much value to my friendship and continue with me on this journey. I express my overflowing gratitude to the government and everyone on this dais.”