There have been many comparisons between Mohanlal and Mammootty, but the debate over who among them is the better actor still continues. The latest to offer his thoughts about the two legends of Malayalam cinema is Manoj Bajpayee. Speaking to Galatta Plus, Manoj said that Mammootty and Mohanlal are actors who come from "two opposite schools" of acting, as with Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri or Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.

The actor drew a parallel between Mohanlal and Mammootty and De Niro and Pacino. He said that De Niro understands his characters so well but also keeps himself "ready to grasp anything that comes to him at the last-minute". On the other hand, Manoj said that Pacino rehearses for his character and is thorough with it when he reaches the set. Manoj said that Mohanlal is like De Niro and Mammootty is similar to Pacino in terms of their approaches to acting.

"Mohanlal sir is somebody who knows his script backwards; I think after that, he must be living it and he is ready with each and every nuance," Manoj Bajpayee said. On the other hand, Manoj argued, "Mammootty is a true craftsman."

The actor also expressed his admiration for Mammootty's performance as a malevolent entity in Bramayugam, director Rahul Sadasivan's horror film released last year. "Bramayugam! My goodness! You cannot carry a film if your craft is not of that level," Manoj said. He also explained that Mammootty's performance in the horror film is so detailed that you get the answers to all the mysteries that his goblin creates at the start of the film by the end just through the actor's performance itself. "I have been watching both of these greats since many years," Manoj shared before revealing that in his younger days, the only option to watch Malayalam films was to take a volunteer's job at film festivals.