Innocent on KPAC Lalitha: She was very good at imbibing the realness of the character and make it look natural on screen

It’s about five months ago that I spoke last to Lalitha, on the phone. Director Sathyan Anthikad had told me that Lalitha will be acting in his upcoming film Makal, so I casually rang her up to speak. At that time, she was already unwell, but she told me, ‘Oh it’s alright Innocent, I will come for the shoot.’ But later, I heard that her condition is worsening.She also used to give me calls once in a while during the pandemic, and tell me, ‘Innocent, you shouldn’t go for meetings and the like. As you make entertaining remarks, people like you and might invite you for such events, but stay safe.’
Our pairing on screen was always lauded for its naturality. I remember that once, after watching the film Ponmuttayidunna Thaaraavu in which I play her husband, my wife made a remark ‘You both behave just like how you are in real life, on screen. Why isn’t there any acting involved?’ I recall telling her, ‘That’s acting. Artistes should be able to make the audience believe that the people they see on screen are characters whom they know in their neighborhoods.’ And it was quite easy to execute such performances with Lalitha. She was very good at imbibing the realness of the character so that it looks natural on screen.
While we were shooting for Godfather, I remember that someone else was cast as my wife’s character Kochammini teacher, at first. But, it’s me who suggested Lalitha’s name, instead, to the directors Siddique – Lal. Though they initially asked me the reason, they got it soon after she began shooting. Who else could have so convincingly done those sequences in which Kochammini tries to jump into the well with her two children, the moment in which her husband disowns her? I would say that there is no one in any industry we know, who can play real, everyday characters as convincingly as she does.
- As told to Deepa Soman