When Mammootty said he doesn't expect people to remember him forever

Now that Mammootty has been announced as one of the winners of the 2026 Padma Awards, it is worth looking back at an interesting assertion he made about mankind in general. In an interview with YouTuber Khalid Al Ameri, the actor said that he does not expect people to remember him until the end of the world, as is the case for any other person on Earth. "How long will they remember me? One year? Ten years? Fifteen years? Finished. Don’t expect people to remember you till the end of the world. That won’t happen to anybody," the legendary actor said. He also opined, "Great people are remembered very very very less. Only very few people are remembered. I am one among thousands of actors. How can they remember me for more than a year? There’s no hope for that."

Mammootty is set to receive the award for his outstanding contributions to the field of cinema. The actor has always been very candid and pragmatic about name and fame. A long time ago, he said that he would like to be recognised as an actor rather than with labels such as 'superstar' or 'megastar'.

The actor has been in great form since the start of the 2020s, delivering one hit after another and earning critical appreciation for his performances in the process. After a prolonged box-office lull in the 2010s, which saw many major failures, he returned to vintage form this decade with memorable performances in films such as Bheeshma Parvam, Puzhu, Rorschach, Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam, Kaathal – The Core, Bramayugam, and Kalamkaval, among others.

His upcoming films include the multistarrer Patriot, Padayaatra with Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and an untitled film with Nitish Sahadev.