Although his actions and reactions have sometimes made headlines, Vinayakan remains widely regarded as one of the strongest actors in contemporary Malayalam cinema. However, even as he has risen to prominence in the film industry, his personal life has often been mired in controversy. Yet, Vinayakan remains unapologetically true to himself.

In a recent interview, the actor opened up about his marital life and how some of his behavioural patterns affected it, resulting in a separation. He said he and his wife, Babita, met for the first time when he was 19, and revealed that the end of their four-decade relationship has affected him significantly.

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‘Had been together since college days’

He nevertheless affirmed that they called it quits solely because of his behaviour, not because of any fault of his wife. He also clarified that they did not separate due to fights, but because it became impossible to move forward together.

“I had a wife; now we are separated. There was no fight; we separated because we couldn’t continue together. Usually, we open up and talk to at least one person, right? For me, that was my wife. I used to share everything with her. Now there is no one like that in my life. That’s where my life became quite dark,” the actor said during a conversation with Manorama News.

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Vinayakan on separation from wife: ‘My restlessness took away her peace’

He responded emotionally to the question of how his wife’s absence has affected his life. “We had been together since I was 19. It was a love marriage. It started at Maharaja’s College. After being together for about 40 years… it’s been difficult for me after she suddenly left, especially to handle money and all. I don’t have things like GPay. She used to handle everything,” he said.

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Maintaining that he is fully responsible for the separation, the actor said that his restlessness had taken away her peace. “We separated because she couldn’t handle me anymore. It’s not her fault. I didn’t give her peace. I felt this separation was better for both of us than moving forward with constant noise and clamour. Even now, she takes care of many of my things. She even recharges my YouTube,” he shared. Vinayakan reportedly announced his separation from his wife on social media in March 2023.

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About Vinayakan

The actor is renowned for his performances in movies such as Chathikkatha Chanthu (2004), Chinthamani Kolacase (2006), Chotta Mumbai (2007), Big B (2007), Sagar alias Jacky Reloaded (2009), Best Actor (2010), Bachelor Party (2012), Maryan (2013), Njan Steve Lopez (2014), Iyobinte Pustakam (2014), Aadu (2015), Chandrettan Evideya (2015), Kammatipaadam (2016), Aadu 2 (2017), Ee Ma Yau (2018), Thottappan (2019), Pada (2022), Oruthee (2022), Kalamkaval (2025), and Aadu 3 (2026). He also shared the screen with “Superstar” Rajinikanth in Jailer (2023), where he played the main antagonist.

Vinayakan won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor in 2016 for his performance in director Rajeev Ravi’s magnum opus Kammatipaadam.

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