The friendship that began with the first movie I had produced is no more. Bharathan had directed that film 'Ormakkayi'. That was when I first met Lalitha in Chennai. It was the beginning of a long-lasting friendship.
Lalitha and Bharathan were always close to our family. Lalitha was already a noted actress when I first met her; whereas I had just begun my journey in cinema. But she greeted me as a friend. An actress like Lalitha did not have to pay that much attention to me.
Later I became an actor. I acted along with her in numerous films. During all these years of my film career, whenever the director or scriptwriter asked who should be acting alongside me, I would say it would be nice if Lalitha essayed that role. Prior to this or after that, I have never suggested anyone else's name. That was not just because of our friendship or close acquaintance. It was my selfishness that I would be able to perform better with Lalitha acting alongside me.
(When asked in 2014 about being paired with Innocent, Lalitha shared this funny anecdote: Ïnnocent comes to the sets thinking he will have Kavya Madhavan or some young actress as co-star. And then he will find out that I'm his co-star. For Priyadarshan's Aamayul Muyalum, he came with a lot of expectations. But waiting for him was me, again!")
Lalitha often used to call me even before setting off to act in a movie. But during those times, we never used to talk about cinema. Most often, we talked about the children.
I was really disturbed when I came to know that Lalitha had been lying unconscious at her house in Wadakkanchery and flat in Kochi. A person, who had been by my side for so long in my cinema journey, just faded away. Lalitha had been my strength and friend both in life and cinema.
While I was undergoing treatment for my illness, Lalitha used to call and remind me that I should return to acting. Now, I am back but Lalitha will not return to the silver screen.