Veteran actor Innocent is someone who likes to take life and its struggles on a lighter note. Innocent surprised everyone when he dealt with cancer too with his quintessential charm and jokes. “I have been living with a regular visitor for the past 8 years; the most respectful cancer. While playing hide and seek in our childhood, we keep looking for new places to hide. The doctors would find the cancer that has hidden somewhere in my body. It would then find somewhere else to hide. When the cancer is driven away from there, it keeps looking for new places. Now, cancer has appeared a third time as well and I am currently on treatment. Dr. Gangadharan said that ‘comedy’ has appeared again on my body,” says Innocent.
The actor revealed that his wife Alice has tested positive for COVID-19. Alice, who is also a cancer survivor, is currently undergoing treatment. Innocent says the family constantly calls and speaks with Alice and hopes the she would get well soon.
“What upsets me the most in these last 6 months is not being able to do movies or not having a mic for giving speeches; it is when I see my grandkids Anna and Innocent studying by staring into a computer screen. They do not go to school at all and can write exams with an open book in front of them. My only regret is that I didn’t have such a system when I was in school. Had I got the chance to write exams by looking in the books, I could have even passed the MBBS course,” jokes Innocent.
Innocent recalls the day when noted Malayalam poet Vallathol Narayana Menon died. The actor was studying in class four and wasn’t interested in attending school. However, he was forced to go to school in the morning that day. When he reached the school, his friends told him that it was a holiday as Vallathold had died.
“You cannot imagine the love I felt for Vallathol on that day. It was a time when I was eagerly waiting for a holiday. I would secretly feel happy when I hear that political leaders who were old had been hospitalized. When education happens at home, I am actually sad for these kids as they wouldn’t have any memories when they grow old,” notes Innocent.
Innocent says he was greatly pained by the news that stones were pelted at the house of a COVID-9 patient. “Those who spurn away patients or pelt stones at them should remember that the pandemic could knock on anyone’s doors,” reminds the actor.
“I clearly knows the happiness that one feels when someone asks ‘how are you” when you are on the hospital bed. Those words are as powerful as the medicines. So, I too wish to ask everyone who is hospitalized whether they are fine. All you need to keep in mind is the well known dialogue ‘Ithalla ithinapparavum chadikannavananee..’ Let us overcome this pandemic together; because I have done it many times,” concludes Innocent.
