Veteran actor Mammootty pays tribute to ex-Kerala CM Oommen Chandy: ‘He was just one phone call away’

Veteran Malayalam actor Mammootty on Tuesday penned an emotional note on the death of former Kerala chief minister and senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy. Taking to his Facebook handle, Mammootty shared a picture with ex-CM Oommen Chandy along with a lengthy note written in Malayalam. Also read: Mammootty’s mom and Dulquer Salmaan’s grandmother Fathima Ismail dies at 93

Mammootty’s facebook post

Sharing his experience of meeting Oommen Chandy for the first time, the actor wrote, “An extraordinary personality who showed that the ordinary has so much power. I have never seen Oommen Chandy except in the middle of a crowd. The last time I saw him, there was a bunch of people with him. He was in the assembly when I was a student. A person who reached heights at a young age. Yet he called me like a friend to the Puthupally church festival and walked with me a shoulder to shoulder.”

He further wrote, “The weight of actor Mammootty, who is struggling to carry the person I am, has melted away, while I was walking beside him. Among the locals, I was considered as the friend of Kunjkunj. ‘I am Oommen Chandy’ as he addressed me, and who was my dear friend.”

Mammootty says Oommen Chandy was dear to him

He added, “He was so dear that he was just one phone call away… a very powerful leader. Once our ‘Care and Share’ scheme was struggling to meet medical expenses for 600 children. Then Oommen Chandy, who was the leader of the opposition, agreed to sponsor the cost of 100 children’s surgeries using CSR funds. When the 100th child recovered and left the hospital, Oommen Chandy, the chief minister, came to see him.”

Mammootty added that he shared many memories with the late politician. “On the third day after taking the oath, he unexpectedly came to my house in Kochi to have lunch with me. I recorded only one disagreement with him that day. This wandering around without regard to one’s own health must be controlled” A smile was the answer. Even my character in the film Pranchiyettan says ‘Oommen Chandy is only one’… A lot of memories together. A thousand experiences. Not writing much,” his note stated.

The actor concluded by saying, “Another experience that had to be written. I was commissioned to write the introduction to his autobiography. Let’s write the lines to be written here, ‘No one has given a doctorate to Ooman Chandy’. If it is given, it will be for the love of humanity…”

Oommen Chandy’s death

Oommen Chandy died in the early hours of Tuesday (July 18) at Chinmaya Hospital in Bengaluru. He was 79 and was undergoing treatment for cancer. The news was shared by his son on social media.

“Appa has passed away,” his son Chandy Oommen posted on Facebook.

On Wednesday morning, thousands of people came out to accompany the mortal remains of former Kerala CM being taken to his native place in Kottayam City from Thiruvananthapuram. The Kerala government on Tuesday announced a two-day state mourning as a mark of respect to the former CM.