Mumbai: Veteran superstar Mohanlal on Thursday said Malayalam cinema has always maintained a fine balance between arthouse and commercial films, a tradition that has only grown stronger with the arrival of a new generation of filmmakers.

The ‘Empuraan’ star was speaking at the "Legends & Legacies: The Stories That Shaped India's Soul" session during the inaugural World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025 held in Mumbai.

Moderated by Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, the session also featured Telugu cinema icon Chiranjeevi and veteran actor and Member of Parliament, Hema Malini.

Malayalam cinema: A blend of art and entertainment

When Kumar described Malayalam cinema as the "intellectual soul" of Indian cinema, Mohanlal thanked him for his praise.

Reflecting on his 47-year career, Mohanlal said that even arthouse Malayalam films incorporated elements of entertainment, while mainstream films retained artistic value.

"From the very beginning, Malayalam cinema doesn't have... it's a thin line (between arthouse and commercial movies). It's a close-knit structure of art house and commercial success or entertainment cinema. It's well balanced. I had the chance to work with great directors. That time they called those films as art films. But even the art films had an entertainment value. And even the so-called entertainers had art in it," he said.

"So in Malayalam, content-wise, we are very rich. I had the chance of working with great directors like G Aravindan, Padmarajan, Bharatan and at the same time commercial directors like Priyadarshan. Now, content-wise, (with the arrival of) the new directors, it's full of art. It's a beautiful piece of art," he added.

At the session, Chiranjeevi spoke about his lifelong passion for acting.

"I used to dance and entertain in and around my family and friends. I was small and with their encouragement, I thought, yes, some talent was there with me. I finally took acting as my career and that's how I went to Chennai, then Madras," he recalled.

The actor shared that entering the industry was daunting, given the presence of legends like NT Rama Rao, Nageshwara Rao (ANR), and Krishna.

"I wondered how I could get a chance to witness such stardom," said Chiranjeevi, who studied at the Madras Film Institute.

He also cited his inspirations, including Mithun Chakraborty, Amitabh Bachchan, and Kamal Haasan.

"I had seen Mrigayaa and he (Chakraborty) won the National Award for his acting. His acting was so natural, and he did a fantastic job... And for fights, I had seen Sholay. Till then a lot of duplicates used to do stunts but I thought I should do all the stunts myself, however risky it was. I drew inspiration from Amitabh ji and for dance, it was Kamal, who is a little senior to me and was a fantastic dancer at that time," he said.

About WAVES 2025

WAVES 2025, which began on Thursday, is a four-day summit celebrating the global impact of India's audio-visual and entertainment sectors. It will run through Sunday at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai.

PTI inputs