If I rest, I'll get rusty: Mohanlal on career of over 40 years and turning director with 'Barroz'

New Delhi: Working non-stop is not a new thing, says Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, who once completed 36 films in a year and remains driven by his passion for storytelling.

In a career spanning more than 45 years, Mohanlal has starred in over 360 films across different industries. He started his stint in movies with the role of an antagonist in Fazil's Manjil Virinja Pookkal (1980) and then featured in critically acclaimed movies like Manichitrathazhu, Vanaprastham, Kireedam, Bharatham, Iruvar, and Drishyam.

"My passion towards my profession is a fuel for me. You should love your profession. So every day is a beautiful day for me. And I have had the chance of working with great actors and directors. I have evolved from their blessing. I am dedicated to my profession. I am a performer, and that creativity is a fuel for my journey," the actor told PTI.

"This is my 47th year in films... Normally, I’ll finish one film and do the other film. But nowadays, sometimes I have to reschedule my assignments, but I can still do it. I have done 36 films in one year. So it’s not a new thing for me... If I rest, I’ll get rusty," he added.

The 64-year-old actor recently made his directorial debut with "Barroz", a pan-India fantasy film in which he also plays the lead role.

The decision to become a director was not a planned one, said Mohanlal, who thought he should give something back to his fans for their love and support throughout his career.

"There is no rule that you have to direct a film. This is something that just happened. When I heard the story, I thought this is something very different. I said, 'Okay, we’ll produce it, but who will direct the film?' "Then I thought that the past four decades I have had the honour of being part of the Indian cinema, telling stories that have touched people's lives in different ways. I have to give them back some kind of gift. This is from my heart. I’m giving something back to them," he said.

Shot in 3D, Barroz is based on Jijo Punnoose’s novel “Barroz: Guardian of D’Gama’s Treasure”. It was released in theatres last month.

Mohanlal takes on the titular role of Barroz, a loyal servant who has been guarding Vasco da Gama's treasure for the past 400 years. His only aim is to hand over the cellar keys to the heir of Da Gama and be free from his duties.

The idea behind the project was to create something that would not only spark the imagination of children but also allow adults to revisit their old innocence and sense of wonder as kids.

"If you ask me if I will direct another film after Barroz, then I don’t have an answer right now," he added.

Asked if his experience of working with master directors like Fazil, Shaji M Karun, Mani Ratnam, or Jeethu Joseph came in handy while making Barroz, the actor said the film was an entirely different project because it was shot in 3D.

"You cannot take their way of filmmaking in this film... Even the 3D comes with unique challenges that differ from normal traditional 2D filmmaking, like camera movement, shot division, and editing... We needed special cameras, we had to use special colours, costumes... Everything was different.

"I haven’t taken any kind of inspiration from any directors even shot-wise. This is a creativity of my own," he added.

With films like Fahadh Faasil-starrer "Aavesham", "Manjummel Boys" by Chidambaram, and Blessy's "The Goat Life", headlined by Prithivraj Sukumaran, turning out to be major money spinners, Mohanlal said it is a welcome change for the Malayalam industry.

"Ours is a small industry, so we are catering only to Keralites. But now things have changed. Our film industry has grown, and we have a lot of pan-India actors in our films. We also have to compete with other film industries. Luckily, we have a lot of stories, and new directors have come, new thought processes have come," he said.

Asked for an update on the third part of his critically acclaimed film series "Drishyam", the actor said the team is trying to come up with a worthy story for it.

"It is not an easy thing to come out with part 3. But we are trying... And it should be a better film than 'Drishyam 2'. Otherwise, we will never come out with Drishyam 3 because we created a name, and we don't want to lose it." "Drishyam" films, directed by Jeethu Joseph, are among the most acclaimed thrillers and have spawned remakes in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. The Hindi version of the movies is headlined by Ajay Devgn.

Lauding the Hindi take on the franchise, Mohanlal said, "They have created a little more and changed the story a little bit. They have done it brilliantly because then only success can happen.

"It is a nice thing to adapt a film from another language, to portray it in a different format. Each state has its own culture, its own music. So they can incorporate all those things into this film and they can make a new film. It's a beautiful art but you should not lose the essence of the film," he added.