Mammootty: I did not mimic YSR, I picked the soul

Mammootty holds forth on ‘Yatra’, and what took him 27 years to come back to Telugu films

Mammootty in a still from ‘Yatra’

Mammootty’s last Telugu film Swati Kiranam released in 1992. One can’t help but wonder the reason for his long absence from the Telugu film industry. He hints he could have done a film far earlier, only he wasn’t ‘invited properly’. However, after nearly 27 years he comes back to reprise the late chief minister of Andhra Pradesh Y S Rajasekhara in Yatra .

Clad in a dhoti, the actor looks fresh and relaxed during a tete-a-tete with media. “This ( Yatra ) has a proper role which is why I am doing it. Director Mahi (Raghav) is only two-films-old, but I have worked with absolute newcomers. I have introduced more than 70 directors, and out of them more than 70 percent are still working in some capacity or the other in Tamil and Malayalam industries. The advantage of working with new directors is that they will have something new to tell. They come to me with a complete script, having confidence in me and backed by a strong producer, they can complete the film without delay.”

Mamootty stresses that it is impossible to narrate the complete history of a man in two hours.

Yatra as such isn’t a biopic but an event-based film, where some important events in YSR’s life are chronicled. He adds, “In between there is primarily a ‘paada yatra’ and an episode on how he becomes chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.

Yatra isn’t just about walking — it is about meeting people, answering their questions and finding solutions to their problems. Showing a person walking for two hours can be boring, the director showed him meeting different people from different strata of society. I’m not conversant with Telugu but since I have a flair for many languages, I’ve learnt it and dubbed for myself for this film. I did not mimic YSR, I just picked the soul. He is an entirely different personality. I will be a poor copy if I walk like him and talk like him. I didn’t do any research. Mahi did it and that’s enough, I just followed.”

Highlighting the similarities in languages, Mammootty says, “There are similar words in Malayalam and Telugu, around 50% of Telugu words are in Malayalam. We say ‘adbhutam’ in Telugu but pronounce it as ‘arputham’ in Malayalam. I kept pronouncing it like in Malayalam and took time to say it correctly in Telugu during dubbing.”

He has completed 38 years in the film industry and has done around 380 films. His Tamil film Peranbu released this week. Mamootty has worked in a Kannada film and acted in an English film too. He quips, “Audience are not different, they might speak a different language but emotions are same.”

Ask if he is competing with his son Dulquer Salmaan, he shoots back, “Yes, in getting his mother’s love.” Mammootty shares that all the while he was shooting and dubbing for

Yatra , the actor kept himself updated and was watching Telugu films such as

Rangasthalam and

Bharat Ane Nenu on the digital platform. He even saw the YouTube clippings of actors speaking or giving interviews in Telugu to compare his diction.

Mammootty was all praise for the Yatra , “I didn’t feel as if Mahi was directing, it was more of a team work — there was enormous support from everyone. It was like a picnic, I was looked after very well. My bad habits were under control. I was so happy to go to shoot every day,” he laughs

He is happy that a healthy phase is on in Telugu film industry, and that people are accepting commercial as well as meaningful cinema, supporting experimental stories. He signs off, “People pay the same amount to buy a ticket be it Baahubali or a small film. Social media has grown and the platform is being used to express opinion. If you buy a television, you don’t buy components. I’m a component in a film industry and I can choose only a script and not a completed film to decide if I am doing a good film. Sometimes I realise my mistakes and correct them. Everyone has talent, but one should work hard. As time passes, we explore new avenues. If you see my past films and compare it with what I am doing now, you will see a marked difference. That is how people want to see us now.”