India, March 23 -- For four decades, Mohanlal has been at the pinnacle of cinema. Along with Mammootty, he has been the leading face of Malayalam cinema since the early 80s. But as in the north, there have been conversations down south too that these two may well be the 'last of the superstars' in Kollywood. In a chat with Hindustan Times ahead of the release of his new film L2: Empuraan, the screen legend discussed the film, superstar culture in India, and more. (Also read: 'I'm not that professional': Mohanlal reacts to Akshay Kumar remaking his Malayalam hits, addresses comparisons)

Ask him about the supposedly dying superstar culture, and the actor has a succinct response, "These are just terms. Megastar, superstar are all just given...