The Padma Shree awardee was born in a family of bureaucrat, to his father Viswanathan Nair, a law secretary and mother Santhakumari.
He made his acting debut in 1978 with Thiranottam which was released much later and in 1980 he played in Manjil Virinja Pookkal as an antagonist.
Not many know this, but in the year 1977 and 1978 he was the state wrestling champion of Kerala. He has a career spanning 4 decades and has done more than 340 films.
He also joined the territorial army and became the first Indian actor to hold the rank of a Lieutenant colonel in 2009.
He regularly participates in philanthropic activities. Mohanlal is the goodwill ambassador of Kerala's handloom industry, AIDS campaign, TB campaign, etc.
He is a shrewd businessman and owns production houses, restaurants, marine exports, biogas production company, art centre, etc.
Recently a picture featuring Mammootty kissing Mohanlal on his face has gone viral, where Mammootty is wishing hiim happy birthday.