‘She was fortunate to witness it...’: When Mohanlal visited mother after winning Phalke award

Kochi: Mohanlal’s mother, Santhakumari Amma (90), passed away on Tuesday at the actor’s residence in Elamakkara. She had been undergoing treatment following a stroke. Her husband was the late Viswanathan Nair, a former Law Secretary.

The Mollywood superstar shared a close bond with his mother and often spoke movingly about their relationship, frequently recalling heartfelt moments that shaped him both as a person and as an actor.

Upon his return to Kochi after being conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest honour in Indian cinema, his first visit was to his mother, who was resting at their Elamakkara home. The actor said that being able to share the joy of the nation’s highest film honour with her was a profound blessing.

Speaking at a press conference in Kochi at the time, Mohanlal reflected on the visit, saying, “I went to my mother first. That’s how it should be, isn’t it? She was fortunate to witness this achievement, and I was fortunate to share it with her. She hasn’t been well, but she understands everything. Speaking is difficult for her now, yet I understand her words. She blessed me, and that blessing stays with me.”

In a write-up for Mathrubhumi two years ago during Onam, Mohanlal shared an intimate portrait of his bond with his mother.

“My mother has been bedridden for some years now. She once spoke a lot; today, she cannot speak. We communicate mostly through our eyes. Looking into each other’s eyes, I sense her love and affection. Sometimes she touches me or gently nods her head, and I’ve learned to understand that language. Just as she once fed me by hand, I now feed her. She lies there watching my wife Suchitra and me eat. They say, ‘just touch’—through that touch, she seems to say so many things without words. Sitting beside my mother, I feel a cycle of life completing itself. I recognize myself there; I see human life itself.”