Mammootty

Mammootty Biography

Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail, known professionally as Mammootty, was born on 7 September 1951 in Chandiroor and was raised in the village of Chempu near Vaikom, in what is now Kerala’s Kottayam district. His father, Ismail, ran a wholesale garment and rice business, and his mother, Fatima, was a homemaker; he is the eldest of their six children. He took his pre-degree at Sacred Heart College, Thevara, studied at Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, and graduated with an LL.B. from Government Law College, Ernakulam, after which he practised law for two years in Manjeri.

He made his screen debut as a junior artiste in Anubhavangal Paalichakal (1971) and received his first credited role in M. T. Vasudevan Nair’s Vilkkanundu Swapnangal (1980), progressing to a lead in I. V. Sasi’s romantic drama Thrishna (1981). Commercial success with the crime thriller New Delhi (1987) confirmed his stardom. Across a career spanning more than five decades he has appeared in over 400 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi and English.

Mammootty has won the National Film Award for Best Actor four times — for Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha and Mathilukal, for Ponthan Mada and Vidheyan, for Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, and for Bramayugam at the 72nd National Film Awards — along with eleven Kerala State Film Awards, eleven Kerala Film Critics Awards and fifteen Filmfare Awards South. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1998 and the Padma Bhushan in 2026, and the Government of Kerala conferred the Kerala Prabha on him in 2022. He married Sulfath in 1979; their children are Surumi (born 1982) and the actor Dulquer Salmaan (born 1983). He lives in Kochi and produces films through Mammootty Kampany, which he founded in 2021.

Basic Details

• Full Name: Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail
• Known As: Mammootty
• Date of Birth: 7 September 1951
• Birthplace: Chandiroor, Alappuzha district, Kerala, India
• Nationality: Indian
• Profession: Actor and film producer
• Industry: Malayalam cinema, with work in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi and English
• Education: Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam; LL.B., Government Law College, Ernakulam
• Family: Wife Sulfath; children Surumi and actor Dulquer Salmaan
• Current Location: Kochi, Kerala, India
• Film Debut: Anubhavangal Paalichakal (1971)
• Years Active: 1971 – present

Career Highlights