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DeathFrom being slapstick silly and lighthearted to sarcastic, shameless and quirky, there was no type of humour he couldn't pull off.Malayalam actor and politician Innocent passed away at the age of 75 at 10.30 pm on Sunday, March 26, due to Covid-19 related respiratory issues leading to organ failure and cardiac arrest. He might have had top-billing in only a handful of films but his sense of comic timing and razor sharp wit delivered in rib-tickling Thrissurian slang made him a scene-stealer in every film he was part of. He also wore many hats, first as an entrepreneur and later as a politician who fought an electoral battle and was elected as Member of Parliament representing Chalakudy constituency. He also served as the President of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists for many years. Innocent, also a cancer survivor, revelled in narrating funny anecdotes and wrote light-hearted books about his illness. He...

TributeAfter years of being labelled a comic actor, Kalpana began to explore performance-oriented roles later in her career, winning a National Award along the way. CrisKalpana in an interview with Kaumudy TVIt shocked her scattered fans across the world when actor Kalpana, always agile and laughing, passed away suddenly on a January morning in 2016. She was 50 and in her prime as an actor, just beginning to prove to viewers that there was a lot more she could handle than comedy. Kalpana had by chance slipped into comedy a few years into her career and then played scores of funny characters, assuring laughter and good times for those who sought entertainment in Malayalam cinema. Much later, she played serious characters in well-made movies, showing a new side of hers that had been little explored. An award came belatedly in 2013 – a National Award, no less – but she didn’t live much longer after that.

MollywoodSome of these artistes – especially the women – had to fight many odds to be in showbiz in the 1950s and 60s, when society was not too kind to actors.Tnm StaffAn actor since the 1950s, a radio artiste of decades ago, a singer of the 70s, a woman comedian of black and white movies — 14 such artistes from the Malayalam film industry were honoured at the Kerala State Film Awards in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. Tr Omana, Cs Radha Devi, Neyyatinkara Komalam, Gk Pillai, Vipin Mohan, Tn Krishnankutty Nair, Latha Raju, Sivan, Sreelatha Namboodiri, B Thyagarajan, Raghunath, Stanley Jose and Jagathy Sreekumar were the 14 artistes honoured. Some of these artistes – especially women – had to fight many odds to be in showbiz in the 1950s and 60s, when society was not too kind to actors. While new actors win their state awards – Nimisha Sajayan for best female actor, Jayasurya and Soubin for best...

ObituaryHe has done cinematography in over 75 films, mostly in Malayalam, and also won the Kerala state award for best cinematographer seven times.Tnm StaffMJ Radhakrishnan/ Santhoshwideangles/ Wikimedia Commons/ CCBYSA4.0Acclaimed cinematographer Mj Radhakrishnan passed away on Friday, following a heart attack, at a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. He was 61 years old. He has done cinematography in over 75 films, mostly in Malayalam, and also won the Kerala state award for best cinematographer seven times. Radhakrishnan has won state awards for his works in Deshadanam (1996), Karunam (1999), Adayalangal (2007), Bioscope (2008), Veetilekkulla Vazhi (2010), Akashathinte Niram (2011) and Kaadu Pookunna Neram (2016). Radhakrishnan has also won awards at international fests – for his work in Bioscope at the South Asian International Film Festival and Papilio Buddha at the Oaxaca Film Fest (2013) among others. His work in Marana Simhasanam won him the Golden Camera Award in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Festival of 1999. He has also done cinematography...

MollywoodSome of these character actors have played the hero or heroine in some films but more often than not, they are cast as friend or sibling to the main lead. CrisFor a funny conversation at the dining table, a tit for tat in the kitchen, a word of advice and confessions, film scripts place next to the central characters, a sibling or else a friend. Most of these friend and sibling characters are crucial when there is a story to be built or a point to be made, but slowly fade into the background and don't take the attention away from the heroes and heroines they are so attached to. Malayalam cinema has always had a habit of entrusting a few regular faces with these roles. In the early days, it would have been the likes of Adoor Bhasi and Sreelatha, but we are swishing past the '60s and...