Thread by @reduvid

Mohanlal a.k.a Lalettan happens to be the patron saint of Malayalis. His films have influenced every aspect of our lives, even the name of our quiz team CIDs From Kerala.

On his 60th birthday, a thread on the lesser known tidbits about him.

#Mohanlalbirthday #Mohanlal60

1. #Mohanlal was a wrestler par excellence in the 1970s, and stood first in the #Kerala State Wrestling competition representing the Veerakerala Gymkhana in Vanchiyoor, #Thiruvananthapuram.

#Mohanlalbirthday #Mohanlal60

2. #Lalettan is the third person to be awarded an honorary black belt by the Taekwondo Association of India, in an effort to promote the sport amongst youngsters. The first two recipients were Shah Rukh Khan and former Mizoram Chief Minister Pu Lalthanhawla.

#SRK #Taekwondo

3. Mohanlal donated his first ever salary of Rs. 2000 (for 'Manjil Virinja Pookkal') to the St. Anthony's orphanage, located in #Kodaikanal, where the film was shot. It helped them tide over a financial crisis in 1980.

#ManjilVirinjaPookkal #Mohanlalbirthday #Mohanlal60

4. Pablo Picasso paintings appear in two Mohanlal films -'Arabeem Ottakom P. Madhavan Nayarum' and 'Spirit'. The one in 'Spirit' happens to be #Guernica.

#Picasso #Paintings #Spirit #Mohanlalbirthday #Mohanlal60

5. Mohanlal's father was the Kerala State Secy of Law and was often tasked with the correction of exam papers. Mohanlal would often add ask him to add grace marks (to raise the score to the passing mark, i.e, 35). Many law students owe their careers to him! #Mohanlalbirthday

6. Lalettan has a distinctive gait where his shoulder appears tilted down on one side. This was referenced in the film 'Mohanlal' (with Manju Warrier as an ardent fan with celebrity worship syndrome) through the title credits which appear tilted as well!

#manjuwarrier #mohanlal

7. Jagathy Sreekumar saved Lalettan from certain death during the shooting of the song ‘Oottippattanam’ in Kilukkam while on top of the toy train. He alerted him about a hanging electric line and Lalettan ducked in the nick of time!

#Kilukkam #Jagathy #Mohanlal60

8. Innocent’s “അഴകാന നീലി വരും…” from No. 20 Madras Mail was based on a Tamil ad jingle for Chandrika soap which he heard while visiting Sivakasi in his capacity as a matchbox manufacturer.

#Mohanlal60 #MohanlalFansClub #Innocent

9. To get into his character as a killer in 'Sadayam', Mohanlal stayed in the same Kannur Central Jail cell as Ripper Chandran, the most notorious serial killer to have come out of Kerala. Mohanlal was the first person to stay in the cell after the execution.

#Mohanlal60

10. There are 3 Malayalam films in which Mohanlal appear under the character name Dr. Sunny. Coincidentally, he is a psychiatrist in all these films. 'Manichitrathazhu' and its sequel 'Geethaanjali' are two, while 'Ulladakkam' is the third.

#mohanlalfans #Mohanlal60 #sunny

11. The Khechara Academy of Bharatanatyam was set up in Bangalore in 1994 by the husband-wife duo Shridhar and Anuradha, who trained in the Kalakshetra style under MR Krishnamurthy. Shridhar, a.k.a Ramanathan from 'Manichitrathazhu', demonstrated his skills in 'Oru Murai'.

12. 'Devasuram' features an ambush on Mangalassery Neelakanthan, leaving him nearly dead. The wandering singer Peringodan visits him and sings 'Vande Mukunda', apt because it is from the perspective of Kuchela who sings it to Krishna (injured and dying from the hunter’s arrow).

13. The code and countercode used by the members of the Malayalam version of Big Boss season 1 (anchored by Lalettan) during a task is 'Sadhanam Kaiyyilundo' and 'Sadhanam Kaiyyilundu', the exact same codes from 'Akkare Akkare Akkare'.

#MohanlalFansClub #Mohanlalbirthday

14. The design of Mohanlal’s mundus in 'Peruchazhi' was inspired by the Roman Toga.

#MalayalamCinema #RomanEmpire #Mohanlalat60

15. What error connects the Param Vir Chakra to Lalettan? Capt Manoj Pandey is the only PVC from 11 Gorkha Rifles. In 'Gandhinagar 2nd Street', if you strain your eyes, you can spot the 11 Gorkha Rifles insignia on the head-gear, which technically is wrong.

#IndianArmy #Mohanlal

16. 'Oppam' marked the first time Priyadarshan and Mohanlal were returning to Ooty in 22 years. To commemorate their long association with Ooty, they shot a song at to School Manth, the location where they shot their first scene in Ooty ('Pon Veene' from 'Thalavattam').

17. In Polycythemia Rubra Vera, the bone marrow produces too many RBCs. Its effects are due to blood being thicker due to increased cell number. Arguably the only time it has featured in Malayalam films is 'Minnaram', where Shobana has it.

#LalettanBirthday #Mohanlal60

18. The honor today rests with "Good Evening, Mrs Prabha Narendran" from 'Manjl Virinja Pookkal'. While, in reality, Lalettan's first scene was a fall from a bicycle in Sept 1978 in the (then) unreleased 'Thiranottam'.

#LalettanBirthday

19. Shijin P S of Thrissur has numbers from all networks in Kerala ending with 2255, at times spending Rs 15,000 to get them. This was a tribute to the famous line "My phone number is double-two, double-five" from 'Rajavinte Makan'.

#LalettanBirthday

20. Incidentally, #Lalettan Lalettan also owns a car with the same number.

#malayalammovies #mohanlalfans #LalettanBirthday

21. Espana Cani is a Spanish piece of pasodoble music written in 1925, used as background music in bullfights. The exact same piece, aptly, marks the intro of Sardar Krishnakkuruppu (wielding swords) in 'Mazha Peyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu'.

#Mohanlal

22. While entering his residence after receiving the news of his mission to America, CID Ramdas hums a particular song. This number, in a way, symbolizes his trip abroad (to America). The song is 'Love in Tokyo', from the 1966 film of the same name.

23. A total of 3 of them were made. After being used for the intended purpose, one was given to Vijay Babu’s son, another to Jayasurya’s son and the third one to #Mohanlal who was fascinated by it being exhibited in the office of Friday Films.

These are the original Monkey Pens.

24. The 'tape’ in 'Namukku Parkkan Munthirithoppukal' is, in all probability, the softcore film 'Emmanuelle' starring Sylvia Kristel.

#LalettanBirthday #Mohanlalbirthday #Emmanuelle #Vineeth #softcore

25. Thenmavin Kombath, the 1994 superhit starring Mohanlal and Shobana was the last film R D Burman signed, but he died before he could score for the film.

#LalettanBirthday #RDBurman

26. The Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park is a major tourist attraction in Houston. And it links Mohanlal to Sushmita Sen. The same landmark appears in "Kannu Kannil" from 'Akkare Akkare Akkare' and "Dilbar Dilbar" from 'Sirf Tum'.

#SushmitaSen #Mohanlal60 #Lalettan #Mohanlal

27. This bridge in Trivandrum, which connects the Punchakkiri wetlands to Vellayani lake, is the lifeline of people residing in places such as Kaimanam, Thiruvallam etc. Today, it is known as the Kireedam Bridge after appearing in the eponymous film.

#Mohanlal60 #Trivandrum

28. While Shaji Kailas was shooting "Harimuraleeravam" from 'Aaram Thampuran' at AVM Madras, he was summoned by his wife, then in labour. Mesmerized by Mohanlal, he did not to go and ended up naming his son Jagan after the lead character Jagannathan!

29. 'Vellanakalude Nadu' features #Mohanlal as the young contractor C Pavithran Nair. In the film, he tries to introduce himself to Shobana’s sister-in-law using his nickname. The poor lady mistakes him for Sir CP Ramaswamy Iyer, as his nickname is CP!

#LalettanBirthday

30. AR Rahman and Vidyasagar (named after Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar!) had their Lalettan film debuts on the same iconic #Mohanlal song - ‘Pichaka Poonkavukalkku’ from No. 20 Madras Mail. They were both part of Ouseppachan's orchestra for the number!

#ARRahman #LalettanBirthday

31. In a book, music researcher Ravi Menon talks of songs that get their unique qualities due to an unusual reason - singers suffering from common cold. The list includes "Nadaroopini" from 'His Highness Abdullah', which won MG Sreekumar a National Award.

32. Ramanilayam is a house located near Kallekulangara, close to from Palakkad town. It is the residence of one Vasumathi Nair, her daughter Ambili and grandchildren.

It doubled up as Ashokan's house in 'Yoddha', and Mrs. Vasumathi actually prepared the Unniyappam in the film!

33. Annona diversifolia, a tropical fruit tree, caused a mini-scare in Kerala in the late 90s.

Why?

It is the source of the Ilama Pazham, depicted to be the cause of blindness in 'Guru'.

#LalettanBirthday #Mohanlal60

34. R Madhavan, from the clan of carvers who made the golden chariot and the ivory state throne of the Travancore royals, worked as a film banner artist in the 60s/70s.

He also created an early 90s artwork familiar to Malayalis - the Nagavalli painting in 'Manichitrathazhu'.