Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair (born 21 May 1960), better known as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, producer, and occasional singer best known for his work in Malayalam cinema. As producer, he owns the production company Pranavam Arts International.
Mohanlal made his acting debut in Thiranottam (1978) at age 18, but the film got released only after 25 years due to censorship issues. His first film to be released was Fazil's Manjil Virinja Pookkal (1980), a romance film in which he played the antagonist. He established himself as a lead actor during the 1980s. The commercial success of the 1986 crime drama Rajavinte Makan turned Mohanlal into a bankable lead-star in Malayalam cinema. He also won his first Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor in 1986, for his performance in Sathyan Anthikad's T. P. Balagopalan M. A.. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor twice, for his performances in the films Bharatham (1991), directed by Sibi Malayil, and Vanaprastham (1999), directed by Shaji N. Karun. Mohanlal has also acted in a few films in other languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. Of these, his notable roles were in the 1997 Tamil political drama Iruvar directed by Mani Ratnam, the 2002 Hindi crime drama Company directed by Ram Gopal Varma, and the 2016 Telugu action film Janatha Garage directed by Koratala Siva. In a career spanning over three decades, Mohanlal has acted in over 300 Malayalam films.