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Home » Entertainment » Popular Malayalam actor and former Lok Sabha MP Innocent passes away at 75

Popular Malayalam actor and former Lok Sabha MP Innocent passes away at 75

The actor, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2012, has been receiving treatment for respiratory difficulties at a Kochi private hospital for the past two and a half weeks. His wife Alice and two children survive him.

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Popular Malayalam actor and former Lok Sabha MP Innocent passes away at 75

On Sunday, the popular Malayalam film actor Innocent, best known as a comedian for his distinctive style and dialogue delivery over the course of a career extending over four decades and 500 films, passed away in this city. He was 75. In addition, Innocent was a member of the Lok Sabha from 2014 to 2019, having won the Chalakkudy constituency in Kerala as an independent candidate endorsed by the Left. Additionally, he served as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) for a number of years.

The actor, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2012, has been receiving treatment for respiratory difficulties at a Kochi private hospital for the past two and a half weeks. His wife Alice and two children survive him.

From 1985 to the late 1990s, Innocent’s career as an actor reached its zenith, during which he portrayed a variety of comedic, character, and villainous roles for directors such as Priyadarshan, Sathya Anthikad, Fazil, and Kamal. His performance in blockbuster films like Kilukkam (Priyadarshan, 1991), ‘Azhakiya Ravanan’ (Kamal, 1996), ‘Ramji Rao Speaking’ (Siddique-Lal, 1989), ‘Nadodikkattu’ (Sathyan Anthikad, 1987), and ‘Devaasuram’ (I V Sasi, 1993) are still talked about, decades after their release.

In ‘Mazhavil Kavadi’, the 1989 film directed by Sathyan Anthikad, he received his first major recognition for a serious role as ‘Kalarickel Kizhamkamthudiyil Shankarankutty Menon’, in a full-fledged role alongside the film’s hero Jayaram. This role earned him the award for best actor in a supporting character from the state government. Reportedly, Innocent labored during the dubbing of the film because his lip movement did not correspond with the dialogue, and even when his lip movement and dialogue were in sync, his emotion did not correspond. Finally, Sathyan Anthikad informed him that he would be compelled to pray at the Mookambika temple in order to revive Innocent. Half-jokingly, Innocent, who was then finding his footing in the industry, replied, “Who asked you to cast me in this role?” You could have cast a celebrity in this role.

In the early 1980s, Innocent began his career in the entertainment industry by producing a handful of Malayalam films, including the award-winning ‘Vida Parayum Munpe’ (Kerala government’s second-best film in 1981, directed by Mohan) and ‘Oramakkayi’ (Kerala government’s second-best film in 1982, directed by Bharathan). “Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback,” a landmark 1983 film directed by K G George and loosely inspired by the life of actress Shobha, was also produced by Innocent. (along with David Kachapally).

After observing that the films he produced did not perform well at the box office, Innocent decided to pursue a career as an actor in Mollywood while abandoning the producer role, which left him virtually bankrupt. However, the veteran made his film debut in ‘Nrithashala’ in 1972, and in ‘Football Champion’ the following year, he spoke for the first time on the silver screen.

Innocent Vareed Thekkethala was born on February 28, 1948, in Irinjalakuda, then a small village near Thrissur, as the fifth of his parents’ eight children. His early life has been unremarkable. He only completed the eighth grade because he found schoolwork extremely difficult to manage.

Later, he tested the waters of politics by running and winning the 1979 Irinjalakuda municipal council elections as a candidate supported by the Revolutionary Socialist Party. He has also written five books, including “Njan Innocent” and “Cancer Wardile Chiri” (Laughter in the Cancer Ward), in which he recounts his experiences while undergoing treatment for throat cancer.

Irinjalakudakku Chuttum earned the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Humour in 2020.

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