Actor Mohanlal looked back at his career with a great sense of pride after his recent Dadasaheb Phalke Award win. In a conversation with DD India, the actor shared that he regards the role of Kunjikuttan in Vanaprastham as the best in his illustrious career. He also reminisced about preparing for director Kavalam Narayana Panicker's Sanskrit play Karnabharam. The actor revealed that he had his doubts about whether he would be able to play the role of Karnan in the stage play, because he did not know Sanskrit. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner also said that Kavalam Narayana Panicker instilled a sense of belief in him to do the role, which he called the director's "blessing" for him.

Interestingly, Mohanlal prepared for the role in just eight days, where he also memorised the Karnabharam script. "For stage plays, it takes weeks to do rehearsals and practice the performance," said the actor. He added that the assignment came with singing, dancing, and personifying the inner qualities of the mythological character—an assignment that he found "emotionally demanding". However, the actor aced it, earning a standing ovation from the audience.

Mohanlal is known for acing similar challenges and walking away with all the plaudits. For example, he mastered the steps in 1992's Kamaladalam in a matter of days under his dance master's guidance. That, too, is one of the actor's most popular performances, underscored by film buffs and critics when discussing his versatility.