Before Aaraattu, Ranking All Movies of Mohanlal-B Unnikrishnan Combo From Worst to Best!

Mohanlal is teaming up with his Madampi and Villain director B Unnikrishnan for one of his upcoming ventures. Titled Aaraattu, or rather, Neyyattinkara Gopante Aaraattu, the film is a family entertainer, where Mohanlal plays the titular character (unsurprisingly). It is a movie about a man called Neyyattinkara Gopan who goes on a journey from his town to Palakkad and the adventures he faces on the way. Shraddha Srinath is the female lead of the film, that began rolling from November 23. Neyyattinkara Gopante Aaraattu Starring Mohanlal Goes On Floors Today!

B Unnikrishnan is a very popular director in Malayalam cinema, making his directorial debut in 2006 with the Suresh Gopi-starrer Smart City. Having last made Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel with Dileep and Mamta Mohandas, Unnikrishnan has seen his fair share of hits and misses as a filmmaker. Apart from the upcoming Aaraattu, B Unnikrishnan has made four films with Mohanlal till now. In this special feature we rank all these films from Worst to Best, and how they fared at the box office. You are free to share your thoughts on this in the comment section below the article.

Mr Fraud

A heist thriller, Mr Fraud has Mohanlal play a hi-tech conman and thief, who possess Tony Stark-like tech to carry out some of his spectacular heists. His recent target is an old tharavadu, whose dysfunctional family politics he gets involved with. While Mohanlal's character is interesting, the film suffers from some very unimaginative writing and stale emotions, giving prominence to style over substance. The only bright spot is the beautiful "Sadaa Paalaya" song, composed by Gopi Sunder. At the box office, the movie was below average. Mohanlal Birthday Special: 5 Cameos of the Malayalam Superstar That Show Lalettan’s Brilliance Even in Small Doses.

Villain

The second of the two investigative thrillers that Unnikrishnan made with Mohanlal, Villain had an intriguing storyline and a great cast. It marked the Malayalam debut of two popular Tamil stars, Vishal and Hansika Motwani, but Villain hardly does justice to their roles. Again, it is Mohanlal's character that has more meat than the rest of the film, with the superstar turning in a fine performance. Manju Warrier also feels wasted in a brief role. Villain was an average performer at the box office, disappointing considering the hype surrounding the movie.

Grandmaster

The better of the two investigative thrillers, Grandmaster has a decent murder investigation angle. It is gripping in many parts, though Grandmaster feels a little inspired by The Da Vinci Code. Still, it is a very engaging watch that keeps you guessing till the end about the killer and his motives. Mohanlal is absolutely smashing as the brilliant police officer, who is also an adept chess player.  Grandmaster was a hit at the box office.

Madampi

While Smart City was Unnikrishnan's first film as a director, his breakout success came with Madampi in 2008. Mohanlal plays Puthanveetil Gopalakrishna Pillai, a character with grey shades, a stingy loan shark who is often taunted by his mother and hated by his younger brother. But Pillai has a few surprising secrets up in his sleeve, that hide the gem of a man he truly is. Story-wise, Madampi might have nothing new to offer, but it's the packaging, the emotional value and the mass appeal elements that work in the favour of the film. Not to mention, Lalettan in top form in the lead role. The film is also remembered for the lovely "Amma Mazhakkarinu" track, composed  by M Jayachandran and sung by the legendary KJ Yesudas. Madampi was a superhit at the box office.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 23, 2020 01:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).