Innocent
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A brief biography
Shaju Philip , March 27, 2023: The Indian Express
Innocent was a former MP, Malayalam comedian and cancer survivor.
The doyen of Malayalam comedy, Innocent leaves behind him an illustrious legacy spanning over half a century, during which he regaled his numerous fans with his trademark mannerisms and hilarious slang from Thrissur, his home district in Kerala. A thespian with an impressive 750-odd films under his belt, Innocent had appeared in just five films over the last two years. His last release was the Prithviraj Sukumaran-starrer Kaduva in 2022. Innocent also served as the president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), a body of film actors, from its inception in 2003 till 2018.
Not just on-screen, the veteran actor’s brilliance shone off-screen too. Innocent was fielded in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The seasoned comedian flexed his political muscle from the Chalakudy seat and defeated former Congress giant P C Chacko. Innocent lost the 2019 polls to the Congress. The actor had dabbled in electoral politics long before the 2014 elections too. In 1979, he was elected to the Irinjalakuda municipal body under the CPI(M) banner.
The actor made his foray into films in 1972, with a small role in A B Raj’s Nrithasala. For a decade after his debut, Innocent bagged roles in less than half a dozen films. But the two decades that followed saw his star shine. And how! When the Malayalam film industry witnessed a wave of comedy movies in the second half of the 1980s and early 1990s, no film was considered complete or a hit if it did not have Innocent in it.
From the iconic Kittunni, the frustrated domestic help in Kilukkam, to Mannar Mathai who runs Urvasi Theatre in Ramji Rao Speaking, Swaminathan of Godfather, Unnithan of Manichitrathazhu, to his absolute best as Warrier, shirking comedy, in Devaasuram, Innocent has given countless dialogues for Malayalis to convey the situations they are in.
A three-time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award, some of Innocent’s most famous films include Ramji Rao Speaking, Vietnam Colony, Kabooliwala, Kilukkam, Mazhavilkavadi and Godfather. The year 1989 was a great year for Innocent. He bagged the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor that year for his role in Mazhavilkavadi. Directed by Sathyan Anthikad, it was one of the very few films in which he played a negative role. His comedy-thriller Ramji Rao Speaking would go on to attain the status of a cult classic in Malayalam cinema.
Born Innocent Vareed Thekkethala in Thirssur’s Irinjalakuda in 1948, the actor dropped out of school in Class 8. As a teenager and a young man, Innocent wore several hats while he struggled to eke out a living. Thanks to his innate ability to make others laugh, he would put on shows to entertain the residents of his hometown. It was these very shows that helped Innocent survive, for his audience — huddled inside shop verandahs in Irinjalakuda — would pay him in cash and food.
In the early 1970s, a young Innocent moved to Davangere, Karnataka, to join his brothers’ matchbox factory. He would take over the factory’s management eventually. His role at the factory required frequent trips to Madras, now Chennai. The hub of Malayalam films and professionals, Madras rekindled in him his love for showmanship. Around this time, Innocent also acted in a few dramas. As his love for acting grew, the factory ran into massive losses. Debt-ridden, Innocent was forced to abandon both his factory and Davangere, and return to his hometown. Back in Irinjalakuda, he started a leather business.
Before he became a household name in comedy, Innocent tried his hand at film production and also worked as a production executive. He even started a film production company, Satru Combines, with producer David Kachappilly. The banner produced six films in Malayalam.
Besides films and politics, Innocent also authored some books — ‘Mazhakkannadi’, ‘Njan Innocent’, ‘Chirikku Pinnil’, ‘Cancer Wardile Chiri’ and ‘Kalante Delhi Yathra Anthikad Vazhi’.
A memoir on his fight with cancer, ‘Cancer Wardile Chiri’ is replete with humorous undertones even as it talks about the actor’s fight against the disease and how he survived one of the most painful phases of his life by maintaining a positive outlook. Just as Innocent went into remission, his wife Alice was diagnosed with cancer. Refusing to let cancer get the best of him or have the last laugh, the evergreen comedian dubbed his wife and himself as the “cancer couple’’.
