10 Cop Roles Of Mammootty That Made An Evergreen Impact On Our Minds

Mammootty is yet at it again- the one role which is probably the easiest. Yes, the cop role. But this time, he is not a supercop. He is just an ordinary cop who has his own insecurities. Mammootty delivers one of his best cop roles in the most recent Unda, where he plays SI Manikandan CP. He is the commanding officer who is entrusted with the duty of undertaking an election duty in a Maoist affected area in Chattisgarh. With a group of young subordinates, the man is on a mission with minimal support from his force and lack of adequate ammunition adds to the team's woe. How they handle a tricky situation is shown in a realistic manner. Manikandan CP surely features in the list of best cop roles.

Abrahaminte Santhathigal is one of the best cop dramas released in the last couple of years. Mammootty nailed the role of Derrick Abraham, An ASP, who is equally adept at using brain and brawn. After solving the case of a serial killer who wanted to make 10 killings, he finds his brother is accused of killing his girlfriend. Mammootty again gave another powerhouse of a performance and the movie obviously ran for more than 40 days and became one of the highest grossers in Malayalam Cinema. 

CI Antony Simon of ‘Daddy Cool’ (2009) is the most different in the list. Created by Aashiq Abu, Antony Simon is intelligent and brilliant but is the laziest cop. This out of the routine characterization wouldn’t have worked if the role wasn’t in the hands of Mammootty. And his portrayal was enough to tickle the funny bones and still make the character as one of the remarkable cop roles. This characterization of a lazy cop in the lead was never tried in a Malayalam movie but Antony Simon did win the hearts of the audience, though the movie couldn't that much.

ACP Narendran came out of the imagination of Renji Panicker as his lead character in ‘Raudram’ (2008). And this role again proved that in Malayalam, others come only after the megastar in the area of dialogue delivery. Though the politics of the movie is questionable, Narendran aka Nari was again a character who was ready to even take on the establishment to serve justice. And this is the only character in the list with a lot of power packed punch dialogues which set the screen on fire.

Shanmughan came out of the pen of Ranjith and was a police who was never in the limits of the law. Even though Shanmughan was just a head constable and most of the time not in uniform, the impact it had in the minds of the audience proves that titles are just a namesake on the reel, what matters is the characterization. ‘Black’ (2004) was one of the dark themed movies and Mammootty’s cop was in the perfect shade for it. And the actor’s enacting of the role was so perfect that audience were left puzzled on whether to love him or love to hate him.

Perhaps, Commissioner T. Ramanathan is the most shaded cop in this list. Written by Vinayan, he was the lead anti-hero cop in ‘Rakshasarajavu’ (2001). He takes bribe, he blackmails others, he handles matters as he likes but he never compromised on the part of justice. It is rare to see such a cop as the lead character in a Malayalam film. But Mammootty’s acting was on the mark that made him acceptable to the public.

Though CI Amarnath was created by a lesser known scriptwriter Suresh Pallisery, Mammootty’s performance elevated the character as one of the popular on-screen cops. Investigating a communal violence, Amarnath was in the category of the fearless cops who are never ready to bend themselves in front of anyone, even those in power. Portrayed as the titular character in ‘The Godman’ (1999), Mammootty’s performance was the biggest plus point in this otherwise a cliché formulae movie.

Perumal was the man designated to save the life of Kerala Chief Minister twice, once in 1988 (August 1) and again in 2015 (August 15). And again Mammootty became the perfect embodiment of a police officer. Perumal, created by SN Swamy, was intelligent, sharp and a perfect hunk. Perumal was created as the perfect one many army to save lives who never missed to impress us.

Created by T. Damodaran for the first time for ‘Avanazhi’ (1986), Balram was the perfect good and bad cop in one. And Mammootty’s performance was unparalleled. This is one thing that differentiates the police characters of Mammootty with that of the rest, they are a mix of good and bad. Mammootty was so perfect as Inspector Balram that the character attained a cult status. Even after 30 years from its first appearance, it is one among the first characters that come to mind of any Malayali audience when asked about on screen police roles.

Created as a supporting character by KG Geroge for ‘Yavanika’ (1982), Jacob Eeraly is one of the earliest and most popular police roles of Mammootty. Megastar played the role of Eeraly with great brilliance that most of the movie buffs of 1980s still consider Jacob Eeraly as the best cop role by Mammootty, though he was not the lead in the movie. One of the main reason for the movie to become a surprise blockbuster is also the character of CI Jacob Eeraly.