Naranipuzha Shanavas, director of the recently released Malayalam film Sufiyum Sujatayum, who was declared brain dead on Wednesday morning, passed away in Kochi. The director, who was on ventilator support at a Coimbatore hospital, was brought to Kochi’s Aster Medcity on Wednesday night after he was declared brain dead. He passed away later in the night. Many, including actors and politicians, have condoled the untimely death of the filmmaker, who was in his 40s.
“Malayalam cinema has lost a promising filmmaker,” Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, condoling the death, calling it untimely. Sharing the grief, actor Vijay Babu, who is also the producer of Sufiyum Sujatayum took to Facebook stating, “He left leaving memories for a lifetime and the stories that he told me..Our Sufi..We tried our best for u Shaanu..love u lots.”
Aditi Rao Hydari, one of the lead actors in Sufiyum Sujatayum, also condoled Shanavas’s death, calling it a demise that was ‘too soon’. “As kind and sensitive as his stories...Rest in Peace Shanavas sir. I Hope your Sufi soul finds a place as beautiful as the one you created for us in Sufiyum Sujatayum. Gone too soon. My prayers and condolences to the family,” she wrote on Facebook.
Actors Jayasurya and Siddique, who played key roles in Sufiyum Sujatayum, also condoled the death of the director, sharing images from the shooting set of the film.
It was on Saturday that Shanavas was admitted to the intensive care unit of KG Hospital in Coimbatore after going into a cardiogenic shock during the shooting of his upcoming film in Attapadi.
His condition continued to remain serious, and he was on ventilator support for days. A cardiogenic shock stops the heart from being able to pump enough blood needed for the body, and is mostly followed after a heart attack.
Shanavas’s debut as a filmmaker was through the critically acclaimed movie Karie, released five years ago. But he became popular through Sufiyum Sujatayum, a mystical love story, released this July. It was the first Malayalam film to be released directly on an OTT platform. The movie is available on Amazon Prime Video. Sufiyum Sujatayum stars Jayasurya, Aditi Rao Hydari and newcomer Dev Mohan in the lead. It has a fairy tale-like quality to it and concerns a triangular romance among the three main characters. It also touches on inter-religious love.
Meanwhile, Shanavas’s film Karie revolves around caste discrimination, and tells the story of a man belonging to an oppressed caste. However, in the film, he plays 'Karinkali' (God), whom people from the dominant caste bow to in reverence.
(This article has been produced in an arrangement with The News Minute)
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