[6][7] He was raised in the village of Chempu near Vaikom in Kottayam district in the present-day state of Kerala, India in a middle-class Muslim family.

When K. G. George was looking for a newcomer with a “smart and handsome personality” as a daredevil motorcycle jumper for his film Mela (1980), Sreenivasan suggested Mammooty's name while they were shooting at the Raymon circus at Ernakulam.

[25] The next year, he starred alongside Bharath Gopy in K. G. George’s epoch making Yavanika (1982), as a police inspector who is on the search for an unpopular tabla player of a travelling drama group who suddenly disappears.

[27] I. V. Sasi cast him in a pivotal role in John Jaffer Janardhanan (1982), the Malayalam remake of Manmohan Desai’s Hindi film Amar Akbar Anthony (1977).

Balu Kiriyath experimented with Mammootty by casting him as the lead in the comedy drama Visa, which was declared a hit at the box office.

[30] In his next film, Sandhyakku Virinja Poovu, directed by P. G. Vishwambaran, he played the role of a libertine lawyer who takes up the case of a female physician who is charged with medical negligence.

Mammootty skillfully showcased Thomas’ descent into villainy, capturing his character’s sinister demeanour and willingness to go the extra mile to win Alice’s affection just for himself.

Films of this genre typically featured a happy family in the beginning, with a well-placed husband-cum-father, a young mother and a girl child of the age of 3 or 4.

In 1988, film scholar Vasanthi Shankaranarayanan wrote, "Aalkkottathil Thaniye shows the changing image of woman in contemporary Malayalam cinema.

[49] That year he also starred in several Kutty Petty films that received negative critical reviews but were successful at the box office, notable of which were Sandarbham, Koottinilamkili and Chakkarayumma.

[50] The following year, he starred in Padmarajan's Thinkalaazhcha Nalla Divasam, based on the radio drama Ammaykku Vendi by Sajini Pavithran, in which he plays the role of a man who wants to sell his ancestral house and put his mother in an old age home.

He collaborated with Nair and Sasi once again that year with Karimbinpoovinakkare, in which he played the role of Shivan, who in a state of rage kills his best friend due to a misunderstanding and explores how he repents for his sin.

[54] He then starred as a forest officer who is mistaken for a Naxalite, arrested and jailed for many years in Balu Mahendra's romantic drama Yathra.

[60][61] Following a series of flops, Mammootty found commercial success with the crime thriller New Delhi (1987), directed by Joshiy and written by Dennis Joseph.

[66] In the same year, he played Balagopalan, a school teacher who is deemed mad by society owing to a superstitious belief, in the drama Thaniyavarthanam, directed by Sibi Malayil and written by A. K.

[83] In 1989, Mammootty starred in the lead as Chandu Chekavar, in the epic historical drama film Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, directed by Hariharan and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair.

[110] Mammootty played the character Putturumees in the movie Soorya Manasam, who is a mentally challenged man who lives with his mother in a small village.

[119] Mammootty made his Bollywood debut with the 1993 release Dhartiputra[120] In 1995, the combination of the writer Sreenivasan and director Kamal created the character Nandakumar Varma, who is a college professor in the romantic drama Mazhayethum Munpe.

[121][122] He acted as an aggressive yet honourable District Collector Thevalliparambil Joseph Alex IAS in his following release, a Political thriller film The King.

[123] In the same year, he starred in the Tamil political thriller Makkal Aatchi, directed by R. K. Selvamani and produced by Thirupur A. Selvaraj under Aarthi International.

In 1998, Mammootty played the role of an IPS officer in the investigation thriller film The Truth, written by S. N. Swamy and directed by Shaji Kailas.

The movie has two climaxes, and Shah Rukh Khan was supposed to do a pivotal role, but didn't happen due to unknown reasons.

[153][154] In 2009, he done the all time blocbuster epic period drama film Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and directed by Hariharan.

[156][157] In the same year he done the action comedy film Chattambinadu, another performance oriented movie Loudspeaker and the directorial debut of Aashiq Abu, Daddy Cool.

[185] His role of single parent Amudhavan who struggles with raising his spastic girl child, Paapa was well appreciated by critics.

[191][192] After two decades, Mammootty returned to Telugu cinema in 2019 with the biopic Yatra which is based on former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy directed by Mahi Raghav.

He appeared in Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam received highly critical acclaim for his role which won him the Kerala State Award for the Best Actor.

[211] In 2007, Mammootty published his first book, Kazhchapadu (roughly translated as "Perspective"), a compilation of short essays he had written in various publications over the years.

[214] Mammootty is a patron of the Pain and Palliative Care Society, a charitable organisation in Kerala, that aims to improve the quality of people in advanced stages of cancer.

In 1998, the government of India honoured Mammootty with its fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri for his contribution to the Indian film industry.