KOCHI: In the late 1980’s, one more name was added to the genre of talented script-writers in Malayalam cinema - Ambazhathil Karunakaran Lohithadas. Fondly called ‘Lohi’, the writer-director with his sharp sense of observation, identified characters from his surroundings and made them immortal in the minds of Malayalis.
Born on May 10, 1955 in Chalakkudy, Lohithadas’ initial interest was in short story writing.
Later, in the mid 1980’s he moved to Malayalam theatre and scripted his first play for Thoppil Bhasi’s Kerala People’s Arts Club.
The play bagged the State award for the best playwright. It was actor Thilakan who referred his name to director Sibi Malayil, who was in search of a script writer for his next movie.
Perfectly blending various shades of life, values of human relations and strokes of imagination, Lohithadas created the heart-touching Thaniyavarthanam, directed by Sibi Malayil. Balan Master of Thaniyavarthanam, portrayed by Mammootty, is obviously one among the finest of the actor’s performances. The success of the movie also gave birth to a new combination Sibi-Lohi.
He won the national award for the best film with a social message in his directorial debut Bhoothakkanadi. He won a total of 14 Film Critics Awards for the best script writer between 1987 and 2007. He claimed the award seven times in a row from 1994 to 2000.
The demise of Lohithadas surely leaves a deep void in the Malayalam industry, and a feeling of pain, or rather the pain of a feeling, in the minds of movie buffs.