The sudden demise of actor Mammukoya (76), who was active in the Malayalam film industry for decades, came as a shock for the state and condolences have been pouring in. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that Mamukkoya had a peculiar acting style that reflected the spontaneous nature of a village resident. “The demise of Mamukkoya, who came to the movie world through theatre and created a non-erasable space, is irreversible. It is the smile of an era, not solely of Malayalam cinema, but that of a Malayali, that has faded with the death of Mamukkoya. Mamukkoya was a valuable textbook for students in acting,” the CM’s message read.
Opposition Leader VD Satheean, in his message, said that Mamukkoya was not an actor, but a human being who lived on the screen and the stage. “He lived like an ordinary man, though he was a star of the silver screen. He walked freely on the Kozhikodan streets even when he had a busy career. He was a genuine human being, wherever he used to be,” Satheesan said.
While actor Mammootty wrapped his message for Mamukkoya with the word ‘condolences’, accompanied by a picture of the deceased on Facebook, Mohanlal wrote a lengthy post about the actor. "Dear Mamukkoya was full of goodness without any pretensions. His unique talent brought out the nature of Malabar (northern Kerala) so naturally on screen, without losing its originality," Mohanlal wrote.
He reminisced that he has been lucky enough to act with Mamukkoya in several movies from Doore Doore Oru Koodukoottam to Olavum Theeravum, a recent project by Priyadarsan. "That innocent smile will never fade. It will be there forever in my memory. His demise is irreversible to the Malayalam film industry, condolences," the post further read.
Manju Warrier posted a picture of Mamukkoya with ‘aadaranjalikal’, meaning condolences, in Malayalam. Actor Jayaram too wrote a one-word condolence post saying ‘vida’, meaning adieu in Malayalam.
Prithviraj Sukumaran wished the demised actor a peaceful rest, also recalling his experience of working intimately with the actor in the recent film Kuruthi. “To see you unleash Moosa in Kuruthi at such close quarters will be a memory that I cherish forever,” he wrote.
Supriya Menon, who was one of the producers of Kuruthi, shared a post about Mamukkoya with a picture she clicked between shots of the film. “No fuss, no assistants, no entourage, just plain, single-minded dedication to work. What a beautiful soul,” she wrote.
The veteran actor passed away on Wednesday, April 26, at a private hospital in Kerala’s Kozhikode. He collapsed during the inauguration of a football tournament in the district on Monday, and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital in Wandoor, from where he was shifted to the Meitra Hospital in Kozhikode. He reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest followed by a haemorrhage, which led to his passing at about 1.05 pm on Wednesday afternoon.