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He was an author and former Member of Parliament. He has featured in over 750 films.
Veteran Malayalam actor and former Member of Parliament, Innocent passed away at VPS Lakeshore Hospital, Kochi last night. He died due to respiratory issues and organ failure and a cardiac arrest led him to death. He has been admitted on 3rd March 2024.
Furthermore, he was a cancer survivor and he was reportedly not well for some time. He had been hospitalized in Kochi on March 3 and was undergoing treatment for Covid after having already survived cancer twice. Unfortunately, he also developed pneumonia, which ultimately resulted in his demise. He is a a renowned actor in the Malayalam film industry.
Acting career
Innocent made his debut in 1972 with ‘Nrithasala’. He has featured in over 750 films in his 5-decade career. Mostly, he did comedy roles which are memorable to the audience. ‘Gandhinagar 2nd street’(1986), ‘Nadodikattu’(1987), ‘Mukunthetta Sumitra Vilikunnu’(1988), ‘Ramji Rao Speaking’(1989) which was remade in Hindi named ‘Hera Pheri’(2000), ‘Mannar Mathayi Speaking’(1995) remade into ‘Phir Hera Pheri’(2006), ‘Kilukkam’(1991), ‘Sandesham’(1991), ‘Adwaitham’(1991), ‘Kabooliwala’(1994), ‘Vietnam Colony’(1992), ‘Manichitrathazhu’(1993) which was remade into Tamil- ‘Chandramukhi’(2005), Hindi- ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’(2007),Kannada- ‘Apthamitra’(2004) and Bengali-‘Rajmohol’(2005) and ‘Kalyanaraman’(2002) was his iconic comedy roles.
He did negative roles in ‘Mazhavilkavadi'(1989), ‘Ponn Muttayidunna Tharavu'(1988), and ‘Ganamela'(1991). In the ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s, there were hardly any films without Innocent. He was the president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) from 2000-2018. He won 3 Kerala State Film Awards. He has acted in Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and English languages.
His last film will be ‘Paachuvum Athbhuthavilakkum’ which hasn’t been released yet.
Illness
Innocent had been diagnosed with cancer a few years ago. After a few years of diagnosis, he was cancer free. He was under Dr. Gangadharan’s treatment. He was diagnosed with his cancer again with his wife. On 3rd March 2024, he had uneasiness and shortness of breath. He was on the ventilator for a few weeks. Dr. V.P. Gangadharan, his doctor confirmed that he died of complications from Covid-19.
Books
He wrote a book called ‘Cancer Wardile Chiri (Laughter in the Cancer Ward), about his treatments and how he overcame his throat cancer. He also wrote-
- Njan Innocent
- Irinjalakudakku Chuttum (memoirs)
- Mazha Kannadi (collection of short stories)
- Chirrikku Pinnil (autobiography)
In 2020, Innocent won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Humour for his role in ‘Irinjalakudakku Chuttum’
Political career
- 1970- Innocent served as the Revolutionary Socialist Party’s (RSP) Thrissur District Secretary.
- 1979- He ran for the Irinjalakkuda municipal council representing RSP and won.
- 2014- Innocent became an independent candidate backed by the LDF, won Lok Sabha elections from the Chalakudy Lok Sabha constituency in the Thrissur district. He became Lok Sabha member for 5 years.
- 2019- Innocent was defeated by UDF candidate Benny Behanan in the Lok Sabha Parliament elections.
The whole South Indian actors and politicians have taken their social media accounts to offer their condolences. Mohanlal, Prithviraj, Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, and more actors have used their social media to condole the actor’s death.
Innocent’s body will be brought to Kochi’s Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium so that members of the public and famous people can pay their respects. His body will be transported from the stadium to his hometown, Irinjalakuda. The adored leader will get one last look from friends and family members.
The body will arrive at his home by evening, after which it will be taken to St. Thomas Cathedral in Irinjalakuda, where the funeral will be held on Tuesday at 10 am.
