Actor Mammootty who was part of the 'MT Kalam Navadhi Vandanam' held in Kochi on Friday recalled how he enjoyed learning MT's dialogues. He also said he would learn the dialogues in MT's novels much before he arrived in films.

“There is a strain in learning his dialogues, but it becomes simple after a while. I enjoyed learning the dialogues,” he said. Mammootty, who played Chandu in 'Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha' said he was not part of the initial discussions of the film. "My name cropped up only afterwards. I had always had a fear of the characters from the ballads and was not sure I could play it with conviction. However, MT's script changed that perception for me. MT's scripts were steeped in the Valluvanad dialect. He had clarity about his dialogues,” he said.

He also added that 'Vilkanundu Swapnangal' was not his first film with MT Vasudevan Nair. “I acted in another movie before that, which was scripted by M T Vasudevan. Unfortunately, that film did not get completed. I met M T for the first time during a film festival. I might have come across as someone who was over-smart. I thought he must have forgotten me, but it was he who had recommended my name for the movie 'Devalokam'. I was a practicing lawyer then and known as advocate P Muhammad Kutty. I received a letter about the role addressed to me as Mammootty. I was newly married then. I joined the sets of Devalokam six days after my marriage. However, that film did not work out. However, I was called by him to act again in 'Vilkanunundu Swapnangal'. That is the bond I share with him. The rest is well-known history," he said.

Mammootty concluded his words by saying how he had spoken with MT about doing a film on Payyambali Chandu. “However, he refused to do the film, because he felt it was establishing the reinstatement of a monarchy, which was against his beliefs,” he said.

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