Malayalam actor and scriptwriter P Balachandran passed away on Monday. He was 69. According to reports, Balachandran who was suffering from several ailments and was bedridden for over eight months now, passed away at his residence in Vaikom, Kottayam, on Monday. According to reports, he died at 5 am.

Balachandran was undergoing treatment at the Amrita Hospital in Kerala for brain fever. The actor-scriptwriter’s final rites will be held on Monday evening at his residence in Vaikom. The 69-year old was best known for his scripting the play Pavam Usman for which he won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and the Kerala Professional Nataka Award 1989.

Some of his most famous films that he has written the script for are Kammatti Paadam starring Dulquer Salman and Vinayakan, Ulladakkam, Pavithram, Agnidevan, Punaradhivasam, Uncle Bun, Thacholi Varghese Chekavar and many others.

He made his directorial debut in 2012 with Ivan Megharoopan, a biographical film based on the life of Malayalam poet P Kunhiramam Nair, which is specifically based on the poet’s autobiography Kaviyude Kapladukal. Balachandran also used to regularly contribute to Malayalam dailies including Mathrubhumi. The cinematography of Ivan Megharoopan was done by Rajeev Ravi, and the film starred Shweta Menon, Padmapriya, Remya Nambeesan and Jagathy Sreekumar among others.

He has also acted in the film Trivandrum Lodge directed by Anoop Menon. Balachandran was born to Padmanabha Pillai and Saraswathi Pillai in Kollam. He graduated from the Devaswom College in Sasthamkotta Kollam and then from the Thrissur School of Drama and Fine Arts.

More recently, he also acted in the Mammootty-starrer One, which was released in 2021. His other notable roles as an actor come in Kolaambi (2019), Eeda (2018), Charlie (2015), Annayum Rasoolum (2013).

Balachandran is survived by his wife Sreelatha. The couple has two children, Sreekanth and Parvathy.