Editing Mohanlal (section)

===Early years (1978–1985)===
Mohanlal made his acting debut in 1978 with the film ''[[Thiranottam]]'', which was produced and made by Mohanlal and his friends{{mdash}}[[Maniyanpilla Raju]], Suresh Kumar, Unni, [[Priyadarshan]], [[Ravikumar (actor)|Ravi Kumar]] and a few others. Mohanlal played Kuttappan, a mentally disabled servant. Due to some issues with censorship, the film was not released on time. It took 25 years to release the film.<ref name="thiranottam"/>

In 1980, Mohanlal was cast in the lead antagonist role in ''[[Manjil Virinja Pookkal]]'' – the directorial debut of [[Fazil (director)|Fazil]]. The film became a major success.<ref name="toi1">{{cite news|title=Destiny made me an actor: Mohanlal|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Destiny-made-me-an-actor-Mohanlal/articleshow/199817.cms|work=[[The Times of India]]|last=Maya|first=M.|date=24 September 2003|access-date=30 September 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130123747/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Destiny-made-me-an-actor-Mohanlal/articleshow/199817.cms|archive-date=30 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Mohanlal's friends had sent his application in response to an advertisement released by [[Navodaya Studio]].<ref name="mathrubhumi">{{cite news|author=Mathrubhumi|title=മഞ്ഞിൽ വിരിയുന്ന ഓർമ്മകൾ...|trans-title=Remembrance Bloomed in the Mist|url=http://www.mathrubhumi.com/travel/columns/mohanlal/mohanlal-malayalam-news-1.36450|work=[[Mathrubhumi]]|language=ml|date=23 February 2011|access-date=6 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115230814/http://www.mathrubhumi.com/travel/columns/mohanlal/mohanlal-malayalam-news-1.36450|archive-date=15 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> He auditioned for the role in front of a panel that included professional directors. Displeased with his appearance, two of them gave him poor marks, but Fazil and Jijo Appachan gave him 90 and 95 marks out of 100.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/fr/2005/12/23/stories/2005122301990100.htm|title=His experiments with cinema|last=Manmadhan|first=Prema|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=23 December 2005|access-date=3 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130130934/http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/fr/2005/12/23/stories/2005122301990100.htm|archive-date=30 November 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In an interview with [[Reader's Digest]] in 2004, Mohanlal said that his looks as a young man might have fit the [[villain]]'s image.<ref name="rd">{{cite web|title=You Cool Cat|url=http://www.rd-india.com/newsite/other/facetoface_july04.asp|publisher=[[Reader's Digest]]|last=Sivanand|first=Mohan|author-link=Mohan Sivanand|access-date=19 April 2010|date=July 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060523070740/http://www.rd-india.com/newsite/other/facetoface_july04.asp|archive-date=23 May 2006}}</ref> His acclaimed negative roles include ''[[Sandhyakku Virinja Poovu]]'' and ''[[Kuyiline Thedi]].''<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 August 2011 |title=Back in action |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/back-in-action/article2346718.ece |access-date=21 March 2023 |issn=0971-751X |archive-date=2 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202062049/https://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/back-in-action/article2346718.ece |url-status=live }}</ref>

By 1983, Mohanlal was credited in more than 25 feature films, most of them had him playing negative roles.<ref name="rd"/> Films such as ''[[Ente Mohangal Poovaninju]]'', ''[[Iniyengilum]]'', ''[[Visa (film)|Visa]]'', ''[[Attakkalasham]]'', ''[[Kaliyil Alpam Karyam]]'', ''[[Ente Mamattukkuttiyammakku]]'', ''[[Engane Nee Marakkum]]'', ''[[Unaroo]]'' and ''[[Sreekrishna Parunthu]]'' changed his image.{{vague|date=April 2013|reason=Insufficient context. Were these roles where he was no longer a villain? If so a simple sentence like "Films such as ___ where he played heroic leading roles changed his image." Would need reference to support image change.}} Through Sasikumar's ''[[Ivide Thudangunnu]]'', he became a successful hero with a "good heart". Mohanlal played his first comic lead role in an [[ensemble cast]] in the 1984 comedy ''[[Poochakkoru Mookkuthi]]'', directed by Priyadarshan, as a young man in love with a girl whom he mistakenly believes to be rich.<ref name="25yrs">{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/2003/sep/03mohan1.htm|title=25 years, 25 landmarks|work=[[Rediff.com]]|last=Warrior|first=Shobha|date=3 September 2003|access-date=3 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130134455/http://www.rediff.com/movies/2003/sep/03mohan1.htm|archive-date=30 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> It also marked the beginning of the Mohanlal-Priyadarshan duo, who as of 2016, have worked together in 44 films.<ref>{{cite news|title=Priyan-Mohanlal back after eight years for a comedy|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/141489/priyan-mohanlal-back-eight-years.html|work=[[Deccan Herald]]|agency=[[Indo-Asian News Service]]|access-date=6 May 2012|date=27 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130135839/http://www.deccanherald.com/content/141489/priyan-mohanlal-back-eight-years.html|archive-date=30 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1985, he recorded a song for the film ''[[Onnanam Kunnil Oradi Kunnil]]''.<ref name="25yrs"/> ''[[Uyarangalil]]'', ''[[Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu]]'', ''[[Boeing Boeing (1985 film)|Boeing Boeing]]'' and ''[[Aram + Aram = Kinnaram]]'' were some of his films in this period.