Mammootty on recent health scare that forced him to take break from acting: ‘I couldn’t smell or taste anything’ | Malayalam News
3 min readKochiFeb 18, 2026 03:21 PM IST
Early in 2025, a rumour started circulating on social media that sent chills down the spines of Malayalees worldwide. “Mammootty is unwell,” people began saying, with some even claiming that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was stepping away from professional commitments for a while for treatment. Although his team quickly dismissed the rumours as fake, the following months saw Malayalees’ fears come true as industry insiders indirectly confirmed that the megastar was dealing with a health scare. Mammootty’s absence from the public eye further fueled the speculation, which reached a peak when fellow superstar Mohanlal performed a special offering for Mammootty at the Sabarimala temple in Pathanamthitta, Kerala.
Months later, in August, his co-stars and people close to him announced that he had recovered from the disease. While no one explicitly mentioned what health crisis he had been dealing with, they, including his long-time associate George and his brother Ebrahimkutty, confirmed that he had been declared free of it. Now, Mammootty has finally opened up about what he went through during this challenging period, revealing the physical impact it had on him.
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Speaking at the 16th-anniversary celebrations of the Care & Share International Foundation, a non-profit charitable organisation he founded, the actor shared that both his olfactory and gustatory abilities were compromised during this time. “Eyesight and hearing are very important aspects of human life. Even while breathing, some people are unable to smell anything. I was unable to smell or taste anything for a long time. We only understand the value of such abilities when we lose them,” he reportedly said. Although he has recovered from the health issue since then, his sense of smell and taste are only gradually returning to normal.
When a man ‘threw away’ hearing aid Mammootty gifted him
During his address, Mammootty also took a trip down memory lane and recalled a time when someone discarded the hearing aid he had gifted them. The megastar noted that having a functional auditory sense was new for the person, and he felt extremely overwhelmed upon experiencing it for the first time. “During a shoot, I bought a hearing aid for someone I knew. He wore it for a short while and then removed it and threw it away. Sound was something he had never experienced before. It overwhelmed him, almost frightened him, and he never used the device again. Even today, he does not use it.”
One of the most influential and successful actors in the history of Malayalam cinema, Mammootty has appeared in over 400 films in a career spanning five decades. He was most recently seen in director Jithin K Jose’s Kalamkaval, where he played the antagonist, and Adhvaith Nayar’s Chatha Pacha, where he made a cameo appearance. Mammootty will next be seen in Mahesh Narayanan’s Patriot, marking his on-screen reunion with Mohanlal after 18 years.
