Hours before Innocent breathed his last on Sunday, March 26, Mammootty, one of his oldest colleagues, had visited him at the Lakeshore Hospital in Kochi. Both the actors are beloved to Malayalam movie connoisseurs. Mammootty, who grew to a superstar status, wrote on his Facebook page that he had watched Innocent's earlier films in the 70s with interest, at a time when he used to note every minor character on the screen and try to find out about them. It was a time Mammootty was hoping to get into cinema, and Innocent had already donned a few minor characters in movies like Nellu, Nirthashaala, and Jesus. "I noticed him, wondering who this person was," Mammootty wrote in a personal note on his Facebook page on Tuesday, March 28.
Innocent had that kind of connection with his co-actors, it'd seem. Long, personal notes appearing in their timelines in the days after his death. Mohanlal and Manju Warrier wrote about how much the late actor meant to them. In every one of these notes, they'd remember the laughs that he brought into their lives. "As it is for any other separation, it is grief that I first feel when I think of Innocent now. But in the next moment, it becomes the laughter he gave us. It is proof of the deep mark he has left behind that makes us think of the fun memories now," Mammootty wrote.
Innocent was a friend, guide, and not "like a brother" but a brother, Mammootty wrote. They met each other after Mammootty too made his debut in acting. They were both in Vida Parayum Munpe, a film made by Mohan, and produced by Innocent and David Kachappally. "More than films that would ensure commercial success, Innocent's (and David's production company) Shathru Films focussed on parallel cinema. My friendship with Innocent grew and they called me for their next production Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback, directed by KG George," Mammootty wrote, adding that their friendship grew even further when they worked together in Oru Katha Oru Nunakatha.
In Avidathepole Ivideyum, a film led by Mammootty and Mohanlal, was a character called Lonappan who came from Thrissur. It was Mammootty who suggested Innocent's name for the role. It was their first scene together and there were so many to come, Mammootty recalled.
Watch: Scene from Avidathepole Ivideyum
Innocent was also the natural choice to chair the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (A.M.M.A.) when it formed in 1995, because of his ability to handle serious situations in a simple manner.
Even in his jokes, he was careful, Mamootty wrote, making sure that the person he made a story about would be the first to laugh at it before he repeated it elsewhere. "He would tell me stories about Lal (Mohanlal, another superstar), and to Lal about me. It would always make us laugh. He would never have a bad story about anyone."
When Innocent passed away, we lost a person, an actor, an organiser, a legislator, and a connoisseur of arts, Mammootty wrote. "Not just one person, but so many." That is why so many people came to bid him adieu, he added.
"Even if there is sorrow within, let his memories fill our hearts with laughter and spread joy. What more can a person who laughed even at cancer earn?" Mamootty wrote to end his post.