The best Mohanlal movies
The top 3 according to 674 votes from people: Kireedam (1989) · Manichitrathazhu (1993) · Vanaprastham (1999). (Updated Mar 28, 2024.)
The Complete Actor of Malayalam cinema: from Kireedam and Thoovanathumbikal to Manichitrathazhu and Drishyam, the Mohanlal films most often named by Film Companion, OTTweek and the Godyears top 50.
Top 12
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1
Kireedam (1989)
Sibi Malayil: a policeman's son whose dreams are crushed by one street fight.
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2
Manichitrathazhu (1993)
Fazil's psychological thriller in an old Kerala tharavad.
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3
Vanaprastham (1999)
Shaji N. Karun: the life of a Kathakali dancer.
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4
Kilukkam (1991)
Priyadarshan's comedy with Revathy and Jagathy Sreekumar in Ooty.
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5
Devasuram (1993)
I. V. Sasi: an arrogant feudal heir and his downfall.
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6
Spadikam (1995)
Bhadran: a rebellious son and his strict maths-teacher father.
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7
Chithram (1988)
Priyadarshan: a man hired to play a husband for a few days.
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8
Thoovanathumbikal (1987)
P. Padmarajan's romance between two very different women and one man.
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9
Bharatham (1991)
Sibi Malayil: a classical singer and his troubled elder brother.
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10
Iruvar (1997)
Mani Ratnam's Tamil film inspired by M. G. Ramachandran and M. Karunanidhi.
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11
Kaalapani (1996)
Priyadarshan: freedom fighters in the Cellular Jail of the Andaman Islands.
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12
Thanmathra (2005)
Blessy: a man facing early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 12… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
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13
Drishyam (2013)
Jeethu Joseph: a cable TV operator protects his family after a death.
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14
Sadayam (1992)
Sibi Malayil, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair: a painter on death row.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (17)
Iruvar is a masterpiece and a Tamil film, so nice that it made this list too
Bharatham deserved every award it got. That performance in the songs is unreal
Happy to see Vanaprastham here. People forget how good Lalettan was in serious art films
Chithram ran for more than a year in some theatres back then, my uncle still talks about it
Sadayam is so underrated, very dark film but MT's writing is brilliant
Spadikam re-release in theatres was such a vibe, the whole crowd was cheering like it was 1995
Kaalapani is a tough watch but important. Every Indian should see it once
Devasuram and Kireedam back to back if you want to understand why people call him the complete actor
Where is Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal? One of his best romantic roles
Kireedam deserves the top spot. Sethumadhavan's story still breaks me every time
Drishyam started a whole franchise of remakes in other languages, but the original Malayalam one is still the best
No Dasharatham? That one deserves a place for sure
Thoovanathumbikal is pure Padmarajan magic, the rain, the music, everything
Kilukkam is still the funniest Malayalam movie for me. Jagathy and Lal together were unbeatable
As a Tamil guy I started with Drishyam and then went back to the 80s and 90s films. Totally different level
Manichitrathazhu should be number one honestly, it's the film every Malayali family has watched ten times
Thanmathra destroyed me. Watched it with my father and neither of us said a word after