Rabz
It’s the last schedule of his debut Kannada film, Shikari, and Malayalam superstar Mammootty is already speaking a smattering of Kannada. “Kannada isn’t very different from Malayalam and if you listen carefully you can easily understand it,” says Mammootty. But more than the language, it’s the songs that excite Mammootty about his stint in Sandalwood. “I’ve realised that Kannada films have beautiful songs. Like Malayalam, Kannada songs are heavily influenced by Carnatic music. That’s what makes them special,” he says.
With the Abhay Simha-directed Shikari set to go into post-production, Mammootty is ready to move back to home territory. His Best Actor is ready for release and Best of Luck and August 15 are shaping up nicely, he says as he flicks out his iPad and scans the posters of his forthcoming movies.
The next couple of months are going to be action-packed. Not only will he be busy with new films and a reality TV show, but also with planning his first home production. “Since we launched the production house, we were concentrating on distributing other films. But now the time is right to launch our own production, Mathilukalkapuram,” says the actor. But it’s not a sequel to the 1989 film Adoor Gopalakrishnan-directed Mathilukal, which won Mammootty a National Award for Best Actor. “It’s an extension to Mathilukal. It takes off where Mathilukal ends,” says Mammootty, adding that the search is still on for a female lead, “preferably someone who can speak fluent Malayalam.”
The actor is also looking forward to coming back to the city with a cultural programme put together by Malayalam film artistes for the benefit of their association, AMMA. “The industry rallied together to make Twenty-Twenty to raise money for a pension fund for ailing artistes. We figured that cultural shows taken across cities raise funds far easier. One such show should see me coming back to the city sometime in February,” he says.
