As it struck midnight on Tuesday, friends, fans, colleagues, and well-wishers began pouring tribute to actor Mammootty, who celebrates his 70th birthday on September 7. Long columns by Mohanlal, the other celebrated superstar in Malayalam cinema, have already appeared in newspapers, with full-page stories about their growing together as actors and friends. Mohanlal refers to him as Mammootty Ichakka, the way his young brothers did. Twelve hours later, Dulquer Salmaan, Mammootty's son and one among the younger crop of stars in the industry, joined in posting wishes.
"I give up !! How does one even appear in the same frame and try to justify being there when you look like that ! Mashallah ! Ever so grateful and ever so blessed. I love you infinity Pa ! We are the luckiest and most fortunate to be your family. We are constantly reminded of that when the world celebrates you on a constant basis. Wishing you the happiest of birthdays and may you always age in reverse," Dulquer wrote on Facebook and posted a photo of father and son.
Aging in reverse, as Dulquer said, has been the quality in Mammootty that followers all over have been lavishing praise about. Mohanlal, who touched upon the fitness of his co-star in his columns, put out a video to send his birthday wishes early Tuesday morning. "This is a day of celebration for me too, for this is also my elder brother's birthday. With a brother's concern he has always been there for me for every up and down in professional and personal life. I am happy that my name is read along with such a great actor's. In four decades we have acted in 53 films together, produced five together. There wouldn't be another such partnership in films in any other language in the world," Mohanlal said, adding that he expects many more years of working together for the both of them.
Manju Warrier, a leading actor in Malayalam films today, has been posting a series of birthday wishes on her Facebook page, releasing a special musical tribute to the star, and three other posters including a painting.
Prithviraj Sukumaran, actor and director, posted an old picture of the two of them together on Instagram. He wrote, "I don’t have a better photo..coz we always forget to take one on those biriyaani and black tea afternoons. But you have no idea how much you mean to me like you do to a zillion other dreamers and aspirants. And more than anything else, thank you for Chaalu and Surmi chechi! I love you..the world loves you! Happy birthday Ikka!"
Young actor Nazriya took a photo of young Mammootty, as he appeared in his first film 50 years ago, and posed it against his present photo on her Instagram page. She wished, "One and only. Happy birthday Mammootty uncle @mammootty."
Actors Nivin Pauly, Tovino Thomas, Asif Ali and Aju Varghese all posted their "Happy birthday Mammukka" wishes with photos and paintings of the star. Jayasurya posted a video. He said, "Only a person who is truthful in life can be truthful in their profession and Mammukka is the biggest example for that. The characters he does are that truthful, and convincing. He has been one of my biggest inspirations, someone who taught me to love cinema. He inspires so many people."
Rajisha Vijayan and Aishwarya Lekshmi too made this wish, writing how much they admire the senior actor. Teen actor Anaswara Rajan also wished "Mammukka" a happy birthday. Actor-director Soubin Shahir wrote a detailed post on Instagram, with a photo of himself standing with Mammootty. "Growing up “Mammooty” has always been an admirable fascination. My childhood was a lot about listening to your stories of greatness and watching your heroism on screen. Never once in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would ever get a chance to meet you. But then it happened, during my 1st movie as an Assistant and it goes beyond words to express the excitement and admiration I felt at that moment. A decade and a half later - I still look at you with the same starstruck eyes and wonder," his post begins and goes on to describe his fascination.
Kunchacko Boban wished Mammootty for his "sweet seventeen". Joju George posted a collage of Mammootty's characters from films and wished him. Senior actors Jayaram ("the 'balyam' of 70 years"), Mukesh and Biju Menon also posted their wishes. Former actors Navya Nair, Nadiya Moidu wished him via Instagram posts.
Singers Chithra, Sujatha also posted wishes. Vidhu Prathap posted an old photo and wrote that both he and the photo had turned old now but Mammukka is still a young dude.
Many Many More Happy Returns Of The Day @mammukka #HappyBirthdayMammukka#KSChithra pic.twitter.com/pvigz3D34K
— K S Chithra (@KSChithra) September 7, 2021
Singer Rimi Tomy posted a video of her singing while Mammootty stood next to her and danced. Venugopal posted about his admiration for the various characters played by Mammootty and added a list of songs he has given voice to for the actor.
Wishes poured from actors in other industries too. Prakash Raj thanked him for "inspiring generations by your inimitable power house presence on screen." Suhasini who has acted opposite Mammootty in a few movies in the 1980s wished him, calling him "a great actor and a real human."