An award beyond cinema? Mammootty’s Padma Bhushan and the politics of recognition

By Rosamma Thomas*

The announcement that veteran actor Mammootty has been awarded the Padma Bhushan—an award that recognises “distinguished service of high order”—was welcome. The question movie-watchers in Kerala were asking, though, was whether the award was actually for the actor or an olive branch held out to the people of Kerala by the Union government.

At 74, the actor is rather overripe for awards. The 2010 film "Pranchiyettan and the Saint" could get a new lease of life with the award—in that film, Mammootty played Pranchi, a character madly coveting the Padma award.

Mammootty’s career began at the age of 20, when he played an extra in the film "Anubhavangal Paalichakal" (1971), directed by K S Sethumadhavan. In a career spanning over half a century, he has acted in about 400 films—Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi and Kannada—and taken on a rich range of roles, making him among the most versatile of actors.

As he aged, he appeared to have broken free of the expectations that shackle big film stars. He took on roles that made audiences relate to him not as the familiar actor, but as if for the first time, each time.

In "Vidheyan" (1994), directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, he played the role of an utterly exploitative, immoral landlord—a performance for which he won the National Award for Best Actor. In the 2022 film "Puzhu", the role he essays is of a man dealing with deep insecurity and paranoia; in "Kaathal" (2023), he plays a candidate for local body elections troubled by repressed homosexuality.

Mammootty is also part of a film culture in Kerala marked by rich storytelling. Art and commerce merge in the movies. Small films, rooted in local culture, have found enthusiastic viewers. Audience preferences, however, are fickle, and OTT platforms have made a world of difference.

Movie-making can be hugely loss-making. In February 2025, for instance, of the 17 prominent Malayalam films released, 11 flopped. One, "Lovedale", produced at a cost of over Rs one crore, earned only Rs 10,000 at the box office.

Despite the losses, the film industry in Kerala grapples with the problem of plenty—too many films are released simultaneously, fragmenting audiences. Yet, if those films feature either Mammootty or Mohanlal, who have both been acting for almost half a century, they are a cut above the rest. Mohanlal won the Dadasaheb Phalke Award last year, the highest honour in Indian cinema. Now, with the Padma Bhushan to Mammootty, Malayalam cinema is covered in honour. There are those asking whether these honours are indeed meant for cinema, for what plays on screen, or for what is still to come—the Assembly elections of 2026.

The Union government played spoilsport in December 2025, denying permission to screen six films earlier chosen for screening at the International Film Festival of Kerala. In discussions ahead of Budget 2025–26, Union Minister George Kurien, responding to accusations of bias against Kerala in the budget, declared that if it needed more funds, Kerala must declare itself backward. Kerala faces financial stress on account of the curtailment of allocations by the Union government—is there a way to paper over these problems? Can civilian awards to individuals cover up cracks in the federal polity?

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*Senior freelance journalist

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