Mammootty's team breaks silence on his cancer rumours, issues clarification: 'He is on a break from...'

On Sunday, rumours surfaced on Reddit that the legendary actor Mammootty has been diagnosed with cancer. His PR team has now dismissed these rumours and issued a clarification that Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail, known famously as Mammootty, is in good health and has only taken break from acting due to the ongoing festival of Ramzan.

Mammootty's PR made a statement to Mid-Day, that read, "It is fake news. He is on vacation because he is fasting for Ramzan. He is on a break from his shoot schedule as well because of that. In fact, after the break he will go back to shooting for Mahesh Narayanan’s film with Mohanlal."

Tentatively titled MMMN (for Mammootty, Mohanlal, and Mahesh Narayanan), the upcoming film is one of the most awaited ones in Indian cinema as it reunites the two legends Mohanlal and Mammootty after 16 years since they last worked together in the 2008 film Twenty:20. MMMN also features Fahadh Faasil, Kunchacko Boban, and Nayanthara in pivotal roles.

Meanwhile, before this highly anticipated project, Mammootty will be seen next in the 2024 action thriller Bazooka. Written and helmed by Deeno Dennis in his directorial debut, the film is slated to release on April 10. Bazooka also features Gautham Vasudev Menon, Babu Antony, Gayathiri Iyer, Neeta Pillai, and Shine Tom Chacko among others.

Mammootty has worked in over 400 films spanning across five decades in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, and English languages. He has also won the National Film Award for Best Actor three times and has been honoured with Padma Shri. His son Dulquer Salmaan is also a well-established actor in the Indian film industry.