Veteran Malayalam actor Mohanlal received a standing ovation on Tuesday as President Droupadi Murmu conferred upon him the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Indian cinema’s highest recognition. The 65-year-old actor, hailed by a minister at the ceremony as “Lalettan” and even the “OG”, became only the second person from Kerala to be given the honour, after veteran filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan in 2004.
His acceptance speech, warmly received, has since become the subject of discussion for two reasons. Mohanlal described himself as “deeply humbled to be the youngest recipient and only the second ever from the state to be bestowed with this national recognition.” While it is true he is only the second from Kerala, the “youngest” claim does not hold up. The late playback singer Lata Mangeshkar remains the youngest awardee, having been honoured in 1990 at the age of 60, while Adoor Gopalakrishnan was 63 when he received the award, younger than Mohanlal’s current age.
Another part of the speech has also caught attention. Mohanlal quoted lines he attributed to the legendary Malayalam poet, social reformer and philosopher Kumaran Asan’s celebrated poem Veena Poovu: “Chithayil aazhnu poyathumallo, chitha manoharamaya poovith (This flower did not merely fall into the dust. It lived a life of beauty)".
Scholars and readers on social media quickly pointed out that no such lines appear in the poem. Some suggested it could be from P Bhaskaran’s Orkkuka Vallapozhum or even Changampuzha’s works, but no definitive source has been identified. This has fuelled speculation online that the actor may have relied on artificial intelligence to prepare his speech, with theories that a tool such as ChatGPT could have generated the verse and incorrectly attributed it to Kumaran Asan.
Mohanlal’s long career began in 1978 with Thiranottam, though the film was only released in 2005. His official debut is considered to be Manjil Virinja Pookkal (1980), where he played the antagonist. While neither debate diminishes the significance of his achievement, both have ensured that Mohanlal’s landmark moment is being closely dissected and widely discussed on social media.
Mohanlal has previously been honoured with the Padma Shri in 2001 and the Padma Bhushan in 2019. On the work front, the actor's multilingual epic Vrusshabha is slated for a Diwali release on October 16. His latest film Hridayapoorvam will have its digital premiere on September 26, and he recently began filming the much-anticipated Drishyam 3 on Monday.