Innocent

Innocent Vareed Thekkethala (28 February 1948 – 26 March 2023), known mononymously as Innocent, was an Indian actor, film producer, writer and politician, who in a career spanning almost five decades has appeared in over 700 films predominantly in Malayalam cinema in addition to a few Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and English films, mostly in comedic roles. Widely regarded as one of the greatest comedians in the history of Malayalam cinema, he is also known for his negative and highly nuanced character roles. He is also the recipient of several awards, including three Kerala State Film Awards, a Kerala Film Critics Award, a Filmfare Awards South and seven Asianet Film Awards. He also won the prestigious Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Humour in 2020, for his book Irinjalakudakku Chuttum. He is noted for his wit and impressive dialogue delivery in the typical Thrissur accent. He served as a Member of Parliament in the 16th Lok Sabha (2014-2019) of India representing Chalakudy constituency. In 1979, he was elected as the municipal councilor of Irinjalakuda municipality. Innocent won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Chalakudy Lok Sabha constituency as an independent candidate supported by the Left Democratic Front (LDF). Innocent served as the president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), a guild of Malayalam artists from 2003 to 2018. In 2012, Innocent was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. After overcoming the first stage of cancer, he returned to the silver screen in 2013 with films like Geethanjali. Cancer Wardile Chiri (Laughter in the Cancer Ward) is a memoir written by Innocent while he was undergoing cancer treatment. Innocent wrote seven books based on his experiences at different phases of life with a humorous undertone. He also contributed to columns in numerous magazines and newspapers. In 2020, Innocent won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Humour for his book Irinjalakudaku Chuttum.