Malayalam director Diphan, 45, passed away at a private hospital in Kochi on Monday. The celebrated director of movies like Puthiya Mugham, was suffering from liver cirrhosis and had kidney failure.

Diphan was under treatment in Kochi Renai Medicity for the last few weeks. He was admitted in the hospital for the last three days. His health worsened initially, but doctors said he was reacting positively to medication.

On Sunday, however, his health worsened once again.

Diphan’s funeral will be held in his native Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.

While Diphan has been working in the industry for several years as an assistant director, his debut film as director was ‘Leader’ in 2003. But it was ‘Puthiya Mugham’ starring Prithviraj that made Diphan famous. The 2009 movie was a turning point in Prithviraj's career, and earned a lot of respect for Diphan in the Malayalam film industry.

His last project was Dolphins (2014), which starred Suresh Gopi and Anoop Menon. He has also directed movies like Leader and Hero. The project he was working on before his death, Sathya, was scheduled to release later this year.

Condolences have been pouring in for Diphan on social media, with many celebrities expressing their grief at his untimely death.

Will miss you Diphan chetan! Thank you for giving me one of the most important films in my career. Rest in peace now..rest in peace! pic.twitter.com/hiIi4dxRc1

— Prithviraj Sukumaran (@PrithviOfficial) March 13, 2017