THRISSUR: Keyboard player and accordionist PD Francis, 65, died in Thrissur on Thursday following a cardiac arrest. Francis, who was a close associate of composer G Devarajan and a key member of his orchestra, had played the keyboard for the popular song ‘Arikil Nee Undayirunnenkil’.
He also played keyboard for recordings of music composers Shyam, Mohan Sithara, Bollywood drummer Babla and for many albums brought out by Tarangini Studio, where he worked for four years.
Francis also played the keyboard for stage programmes (ganamelas) of MS Viswanathan, V Dakshinamurthy, T M Soundararajan, P Susheela, P Jayachandran, Madhuri, S Janaki and Krishnachandran. Francis was the orchestra director of Kalasadan Orchestra, Thrissur Elite Orchestra and Coimbatore Elite Orchestra. He was initiated into piano and accordion playing by Fr Malcolm of Calvary Church. Francis is survived by wife, a son and a daughter.