In multiple interviews, Mammootty said that he wants to act as long as he is alive, underscoring how passionate he is about his profession. The actor expressed a similar sentiment at a recent event. 

At a promotional event for his upcoming film Patriot on Friday, a reporter told Mammootty that he doubts whether the legendary actor has more characters to explore. Mammootty interrupted the reporter, saying, “I have many more characters to explore. I have no doubts about it.”

The actor then drew a parallel with Youth star Abison Thevarasa, also known as Chinna Thamizha, without taking the latter’s name, to explain the level of his drive. “Recently, I saw the success meet of a film called Youth. Many spoke during it. One of them delivered an emotional speech, expressing his happiness for the chance he finally got in cinema, although his father discouraged him from pursuing roles.”

Mammootty said that he never experienced a similar moment in his career, because of the lack of promotional events at the time he started acting in cinema. “I have the same amount of drive for acting as him,” Mammootty said, eliciting big cheers from the audience. 

While Mammootty never mentioned Chinna Thamizha’s name during his speech, the Youth star expressed his gratitude for the legendary actor mentioning him. Taking to his Instagram Stories, he wrote, “This made my day. Thank you sir.”

Meanwhile, the film’s lead actor and director, Ken Karunaas wrote, “Can't believe this happened to us. Thank you sir.”

Youth marks Ken's debut as a director and as a lead actor and Chinna Thamizha’s acting debut. The film recently arrived on Netflix after its March release in theaters. On the other hand, Mammootty awaits the May 01 release of director Mahesh Narayanan’s Patriot, where he reunites with Mohanlal after a long time.