Malayalam actor and screenwriter P Balachandran dies at 69

Veteran Malayalam actor and screenwriter P Balachandran, who had been ill for close to eight months, died early on Monday at his home in Kerala. He was 69.

The artiste had been undergoing treatment for brain fever at Amrita hospital and was recently shifted to his residence. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Born Padmanabhan Balachandran on February 2, 1952 to Padmanabha Pillai and Saraswati Bhai in the village of Sasthamkotta in Kerala's Kollam district, he made his acting debut as an extra in Richard Attenborough’s award-winning opus Gandhi (1982). 

As an actor, he has also worked in films such as Trivandrum Lodge, Silence and Thank You, among others. 

As a screenwriter, he worked in films such as Uncle Bun, Kallu Kondoru Pennu and Police. His lone directorial project was the 2012 film Ivan Megharoopan, based on the life of poet  P Kunhiraman Nair.

He was awarded the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and Kerala Professional Nataka Award in 1989 for Paavam Usman. 

Balachandran was recently seen in Mammootty's political thriller One (2021).

Reacting to his sudden demise, Malayalam celebrities took to social media to express their condolences. 

Actor Jayasurya shared a photo of Balachandran on his Facebook page and eulogized the artiste.

Producer East Coast Vijayan wrote on Facebook, “Heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of actor, writer and director P Balachandran today.”