Mammootty’s 75th birthday brought with it the announcement of his next film, and the title has an unexpected connection to a very different stage of his career. Directed by Nithish Sahadev and jointly written by Nithish and Anuraj OB, the film is titled Mela, the same name as K.G. George’s 1980 film in which Mammootty played Vijayan, a motorcycle stunt performer associated with a travelling circus. The coincidence is striking because the earlier Mela was made when Mammootty was still a relatively unknown actor trying to establish himself in Malayalam cinema. Forty-six years later, the same title has returned with Mammootty as its leading star, and with his own production company, Mammootty Kampany, backing the film.
There is no deliberate attempt to recreate or pay homage to K.G. George’s film. Nithish Sahadev has clarified that he chose the title independently, inspired by the aura of Mammootty’s character in the new film. He was aware, of course, that the name would immediately bring the 1980 film to mind, but that connection was not the reason for choosing it. What makes the coincidence interesting, therefore, is precisely that it was not planned. A title that suited the new character has unexpectedly brought an important chapter from Mammootty’s early career back into the conversation.
The original Mela belongs to a period when Mammootty’s circumstances were very different. He had appeared in films before 1980, but had not yet established himself as a professional actor. He was practising law in Ernakulam while continuing to look for acting opportunities. His first credited role came in M. Azad’s Vilkkanundu Swapnangal in 1980, for which he received Rs 50, but there was little at that point to suggest the scale of the career that lay ahead.
It was around this time that K.G. George was looking for an actor to play Vijayan, the motorcycle stunt performer in Mela. According to Sreenivasan’s recollection, the filmmakers were looking for a young man with a smart and handsome personality for the part. Sreenivasan suggested Mammootty, whom he had come to know through Vilkkanundu Swapnangal. Cinematographer Ramachandra Babu, who had worked on that film and was already familiar with Mammootty, also supported the recommendation. Mammootty got the role and became part of a film that would occupy an important place in the early history of his career.
Sreenivasan has been careful not to present himself as the person responsible for Mammootty’s eventual rise. His recommendation was made because he believed Mammootty suited the particular role in Mela, not because he imagined that he was helping launch a future superstar. The distinction matters because Mammootty’s rise was not immediate. Mela gave him an opportunity and brought him further attention, but what followed was a gradual progression through a succession of roles and performances.
One of Sreenivasan’s recollections from the period offers a particularly revealing glimpse into Mammootty’s circumstances. After the dubbing of Mela was completed in Madras, the two met at Chennai Central, where Sreenivasan handed Mammootty the remuneration that had been entrusted to him. Mammootty received Rs 800 for the film, a considerable increase on the Rs 50 he had earned for Vilkkanundu Swapnangal. Sreenivasan recalled that Mammootty was surprised by the amount and jokingly remarked that he was going to Ernakulam to enjoy himself with the money. The episode also gave Sreenivasan an indication of how little Mammootty was earning from his legal practice at the time.
The story offers a glimpse of Mammootty before stardom. He was balancing an uncertain acting career with a legal practice that was not bringing in much income, and the Rs 800 he received for Mela was significant enough to remain part of Sreenivasan’s recollections decades later. The importance of the amount becomes clearer only in retrospect, given the career and financial success that would eventually follow.
The film also brought together two young men who would eventually become major figures in Malayalam cinema. Sreenivasan was himself part of Mela, playing Balan, while Mammootty was still at the beginning of his acting career. Their association would continue well beyond that film, with Sreenivasan later becoming one of Malayalam cinema’s most influential screenwriters and actors, and Mammootty building a career that would encompass some of the industry’s most significant films and performances.
Sreenivasan has also recalled how intensely Mammootty was interested in cinema even in those early days. When the two first became acquainted, Mammootty apparently remembered details about Sreenivasan’s family and college life that Sreenivasan himself had forgotten. It was an early glimpse of the curiosity and attentiveness that would become part of Mammootty’s working life.
The new Mela is being mounted as an action entertainer, with Mammootty playing a local gangster. The character has a distinct regional identity, with Mammootty using the Malayalam dialect associated with the Marthandam-Nagercoil region. The first-look poster, unveiled on his birthday, presents him in a rugged new avatar. The film is Mammootty Kampany’s ninth production venture and is currently being shot in Karaikudi, with a theatrical release planned for 2027.
Now, 46 years later, Mammootty finds himself at the centre of another Mela. The title may have been chosen without reference to the earlier film, but it has nevertheless brought the story of the young actor he once was back into focus; and with it, a reminder of how much changed between that Rs 800 payment and his 75th birthday.
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