Bhoothakkannadi is a Malayalam film directed by Lohithadas. It tells the story of Vidyadharan (Mammootty), a clocksmith, and his inability to deal with the harsh realities of his life. This was Lohithadas's first movie as a director and was critically acclaimed. Lohithadas won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director at the National Film Awards. It won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film in 1997. Mammootty won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.When Lohithadas narrated the script to Mammootty, he was instantly hooked to the narrative. Mammootty wanted to direct the movie himself, featuring veteran Tamil actor Rajanikanth in the lead role. However, the project never took off. Eventually, the writer Lohithadas himself directed the film with Mammootty as the lead.This was one of the finest performance of Mammootty. The actor was one of the finalist for best actor in the National awards.