KANNUR: Hundreds paid last respects to film director Madhu Kaithapram, 44, who died at a private hospital in Kozhikode on Monday night.
Madhu Kaithapram, who was considered a very promising director among the new crop of filmmakers, breathed his last around 11.30 pm at the hospital where he had been undergoing treatment for diabetes.
People from different walks of life paid homage to the young director when the body was placed at his home in Payyannur and at his ancestral home in Kaithapram. People thronged Payyannur Gandhi Park and Cheruvichery library in Kaithapram when the body was placed there. The cremation was held at Kaithapram with state honours late on Tuesday. A vibrant cultural activist at the local level, Madhu entered the filmdom as an assistant of director Jayaraj. He became an independent director in 2006 with ‘Ekantham’, which received the national award for the best debut director.
‘Madhyavenal’, his second film which was released in 2009, was followed by ‘Orma Mathram’ in 2011. His latest work ‘Vellivelichathil’ also treads a different path from mainstream cinema.
In his condolence message, Minister for Culture K C Joseph said that Madhu Kaithapram was a promising young talent in Malayalam filmdom. “The demise is an irreparable loss for those who eagerly waited for his films. He earned a name as the maker of films with artistic values. The films also carried a call to rekindle the lost values of our villages,” he said.