Mammootty's contributions to New Gen Mollywood
Mammootty is indeed a towering figure in Malayalam Cinema as he was known for balancing the star and actor in him. He has also been credited for having introduced many newcomers who became the next big thing in Mollywood.
The filmmakers that Mammootty introduced:
Dennis Joseph (1957-2021): A Scenarist in Malayalam cinema who brought out many thrillers and heartbreak stories; Dennis made his directorial debut through Manu Uncle which was a comedy thriller adapted from Famous Five. This movie also saw Suresh Gopi ace a comical character Minnal Prathapan. As a screenwriter, Dennis was credited for making superstars out of Mammootty and Mohanlal.
AK Lohithadas (1955-2009): Before debuting in Cinema; Lohi was a playwright on the stage. Lohi debuted as a screenwriter with Thaniyavarthanam directed by Sibi Malayil and starring Mammootty. He wielded the megaphone for the first time with Bhoothakannadi (The Magnifying Glass) which won him the national award for best debut film of a director.
Lal Jose Mechery (1966): Lal Jose was already famous for directing Classmates and Diamond Necklace. He started out as an assistant to Kamal and later debuted as a director with Oru Marthavoor Kanavu which was written by Sreenivasan and starring Mammootty.
Blessy (1960): Blessy debuted as a director with Kazhcha which starred Mammootty. This film saw him in a role of a middle class man who aims to reunite a Gujarati lad with his parents. This film was based on real life events. Blessy is well credited for making realist stories.
Anwar Rasheed (1976): Anwar Rasheed got a starting point with Rajamanikyam which was a Mammootty starrer. This action comedy featured the use of the Trivandrum slang. He would later direct Mammootty's son Dulquer Salmaan in Ustad Hotel which won the National Award for best popular film and best dialogues and special mention.
Amal Neerad (1976): A National Award winning cinematographer, Amal debuted as a director with a stylish gangster flick Big B which was a loose adaptation of Four Brothers. He went on to make more films like Iyobinte Pushthakam , Bheeshma Parvam and CIA. No one can forget the cult character Bilal John Kurishingal and his dialogue "Kochi Pazhaya Kochi illanu ariyam, Pakshe Bilal Pazhaya Bilal thanneya."
Aashiq Abu(1978): Aashiq Abu started his film career as an assistant to Kamal and also debuted as a director with Mammootty's film Daddy Cool. He later went on to establish himself as an iconic legend of the New Gen Malayalam Cinema Movement.
Vysakh (1978) : Vysakh is well known for his Pulimurugan that was a highest grossing movie in 2016. His debut film was Pokkiri Raja which starred Mammootty and Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead roles.
Ajai Vasudev (1980) : Ajai Vasudev who served as an assistant to Shaji Kailas debuted as a director with Rajadhi Raja which featured Mammootty in the lead roles. They would later collaborate on Masterpiece and Shylock.
Mammootty is indeed an amazing thespian who believes that he is hungry for the next character and is indeed the undeclared god who gave new filmmakers a chance to exhibit their talents. He is indeed the thespian in Indian Cinema.
