First, Lalitha. Now, Innocent. Malayalam's iconic pair lost just a year apart | 5 best roles

In little over a year, Malayalam cinema has lost arguably its best-ever on-screen pair.

The evergreen KPAC Lalitha passed on February 22, 2022, and the inimitable Innocent left a void on March 26, 2023.

Such was their on-screen camaraderie that Innocent famously said Lalitha got the best out of him.

Their combination was so regular yet never a dull one. When asked about their popular pairing, Lalitha said in 2014: "Innocent 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 'Aamayum Muyalum', he came with a lot of expectations. But waiting for him was me, again."

Onmanorama has come up with five of their popular ones. Of course, it's unfair to their numerous other combo roles, but below are the famous five!

Manichithrathazhu
Innocent as Unnithan
Lalitha as Bhasura

Innocent and Lalitha played the roles of husband and wife in the movie. The scenes of the couple, who follow the directions of an astrologer, will make you split your sides laughing. Bhasura's efforts to make Unnithan wear an amulet is one of the most popular comedy scenes in the movie.

Kottayam Kunjachan
Innocent as Koonammoochi Mikhael
Lalitha as Aleyamma

Mikhael is a soft-spoken, pious man who bears even harsh injustices with a shrug thinking God willed it.

Aleyamma, in contrast, is domineering. She despises her husband's soft approach. Though the two have played husband-wife roles, Kottayam Kunjachan was unique.

Godfather
Innocent as Swaminathan
Lalitha as Kochammini

Swaminathan's secret marriage to Kochammini and the hilarious scenes that follow when his brother and friend discover the truth are so popular. The dialogues between the duo are also evergreen.

The plot gets more interesting when Ramabhadran, Swaminathan's younger brother, blackmails him for his marriage with Malu.

Sasneham
Innocent as Eenashu
Lalitha as Rosie

In this quintessential family drama from Sathyan Anthikad, the contrasting influence Eenashu and Rosie have in the lives of an inter-religious couple is a must-watch, if you haven't yet.

The film also features Shobana, Balachandran Menon, among others and was written by Lohithadas. The film was remade in Tamil and Telugu.

Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu
Innocent as Panicker
Lalitha as Bhagiradhi
What an epic pairing. Yet again, husband and wife. Panicker the local astrologer and his ambitious wife, Bhagiradhi try to trick a goldsmith, who is madly in love with their daughter, Snehalatha. A masterpiece from the Anthikad-Raghunath Paleri combo.