THRISSUR: Friends, family and film enthusiasts bid a solemn farewell to popular Malayalam film director Babu Narayanan, who died here on Saturday. He was 59. Babu, who was part of the hugely successful Anil Babu duo, was undergoing treatment for cancer. Before pairing up with Anil, Babu wo rked as an independent director without much success.
Anagha, released in 1989, was his first movie. He directed Ponnaranjaanam in 1990, before forming his alliance with Anil in 1992. Ponnaramthottathe Raajaavu was their first movie together. Later, the duo delivered several super hit movies in the 1990s including Manthirikacheppu, Welcome to Kodaikanal, Inchakkadan Mathayi & Sons, Aramanaveedum Anjoorekkarum, Kudumbavisheshamand Pattabhishekam which established them as a formidable force in the industry. The duo split up in 2004 after Parayam.
After a hiatus of over 10 years, Babu came back to direct To Noora with Love, starring Mamta Mohandas in the lead in 2014, which proved to be his last. Babu is survived by wife Jyothilakshmi, daughter Sravana, who debuted as heroine opposite Kunchako Boban in Lal Jose’s Thattinpurath Achyuthan, and son Darshan.