ALAPPUZHA: Master scriptwriter P K Sarangapani, whose scripts bear the indelible stamp of his mastery, died here around 2 p.m. on Wednesday. He was 86. Sarangapani stands tall on account of his stories rooted firmly in Kerala's Vadakkan Pattu genre.
He was undergoing treatment for agerelated ailments at a private hospital in Cherthala. The funeral will be held on the premises of his house at 10.30 a.m. on Thursday.
Having rightly gauged the pulse of the audience through his scripts for Udaya Studio's movies like Thacholi Othenan, Unniyarcha, Palattu Koman, Aromalunni and Kannappanunni, the master storyteller has also written stories and dialogues for as many as 16 plays.
It was Udaya Studio's Kunchacko who had introduced Sarangapani to the Malayalam film industry through his movie Umma and there was no
looking back for him after that.
His last film was Kadathanadan Ambadi in 1990, with Prem Nazir and Mohanlal in the lead. Though Sarangapani tried to write a story of a woman fighting for an equal position with men in society, he could not complete his work owing to old age ailments.
Sarangapani, who had been living with his daughter Jula at Sarvodayapuram in Mararikkulam, was ignored by AMMA and others in the film industry. He was on an attempt to condense the morethansevendecadeold saga of Malayalam filmmaking into words titled Malayala Chalachithra Puranam. But he could not finish it.
Sarangapani, who was a member of a communist family, had also taken part in the historic PunnapraVayalar revolt. Sarangapani was upset with the crumble of Udaya Studio, which had served as the cradle of Malayalam tinseldom since the late Kunchako established it in 1947. It was Udaya Studio which witnessed the growth of Sarangapani who came close to actor Satyan and others. Cultural Affairs Minister M A Baby had visited Sarangapani at his house on December 4 and actor Kunchako Boban had visited him at the hospital the other day. He is survived by his sister, revolutionary singer P K Medhini, daughters Kala, Jula and son Biju.