Scriptwriter T A Shahid, the man who reinvented a comedian in actor Mammootty and had given a much-needed break for Mohanlal in early 2000s, is no more.
The 41-year-old, known for family dramas just like his brother and noted scriptwriter T A Razak, met an early demise at a private hospital here on Friday evening around 7 pm. He was under treatment for liver cirrhosis for the past several months at the hospital. The body was brought to the house later on Friday night.
Actors Harisree Ashokan, Vineeth, Narayanan and Augustine, director Ranjith, musician Shahbaz Aman and politicians arrived at the house to pay homage. Shahid’s mortal remains will be kept at Kozhikode Town Hall from 8 am to 9 am on Saturday for the public to pay their last respects.
The body will be buried at Kannamparamb Juma Masjid graveyard.
Shahid shot to fame with his debut film ‘Balettan’ starring Mohanlal and directed by V M Vinu in 2003. The film, in fact, brought actor Mohanlal back to the family audience as the actor was going through lean patches in the early 2000s with similar larger-than-life action hero characters since the film
‘Narasimham’. ‘Shahid then penned two more Mohanlal films ‘Natturajavu’ and ‘Mambazhakkalam’, directed by Shaji Kailas and Joshiy, respectively, in 2004. Shahid first teamed up with director Anil C Menon for the film ‘Sakalakalavallabhavan’ but the project was cancelled following financial constraints.
After the release of ‘Balettan’, Shahid and Anil resumed the earlier project and the film was renamed ‘Malsaram’ with Kalabhavan Mani in the lead role. Other films include Rajamanikkyam’ (2005), Ben Johnson(2005), Pachakuthira (2006), Thanthonni (2010) and MLA Mani.
Shahid was reportedly working on a directorial debut venture with his brother Razak.
A native of Eranhipalam in Kozhikode, Shahid is survived by wife Sheeja and daughters Akhila and Alitha.