Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, 48, completed three decades in filmdom Wednesday and was pleasantly surprised when his friends threw a small party to celebrate the occassion.

"Believe me, I never knew that it was the same day 30 years back that I first wore the grease paint. And when it happens in the midst of people who have been with me all these years, it came as a surprise. My happiness can just be guessed, " Mohanlal told.

"I feel really excited and happy with this small function at the sets today (Wednesday), " added the actor whose debut film never saw the light of day.

Mohanlal faced the camera for the first time Sep 3, 1978 for "Thiranottam", a film which was never screened.

After that he had to wait for another two years. Then he made his mark as a villain in the mega box office hit "Manjil Virinja Pookal" and since then he has never looked back. He is reigning supreme in the Malayalam film industry along with Mammootty.

In his three decade long career, the thespian gave hits like "Nadodikkattu", "Kireedam", "Vanaprastham" and "Thanmatra". His recent big hit is "Aakashagopuram".

The actor bagged his first National Award for best actor, a special jury award, for the film "Kireedam" in 1989. Later he won National Awards for best actor for "Bharatham" (1991) and "Vanaprastham" (1999).

His film "Kaalapani", released in 1995, won five National and seven State Awards.

"Honestly, I'm not sure how many films I have done all these years. It could be nearing 300, but I'm sorry I do not know the correct figure, " said Mohanlal.

Shaji Kailas, director of "Red Chillies", said that it was a small function, but the "warmth and happiness we all had was unbelievable".

"Certainly the growth of Mohanlal is a fairy tale story and he has more than proved his mettle as an actor. We are really fortunate that we have a real star amongst us and I'm hugely pleased that the celebration took place on the set of my film, " said Kailas, who was instrumental in giving Mohanlal several hit films.

The actor is currently shooting for his Japanese film "Nair San".