THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Film director Sangeeth Sivan passed away on Wednesday. The 61-year-old was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Mumbai. Sangeeth’s maiden directorial venture was Malayalam action thriller ‘Vyooham’, released in 1990.
The film with Raghuvaran in the lead caught the imagination of filmgoers, thanks to the fight sequences involving Babu Antony. He has directed around 20 films in Malayalam and Hindi.
‘Yoddha’, ‘Gandharvam’ and ‘Nirnayam’ were among the noted Malayalam films helmed by him. ‘Johny’, released in 1993, won the state award for best children’s film.
The Mohanlal-starrer ‘Yoddha’ was an all-time hit and is considered his most popular work in Malayalam. The film paved the way for music composer A R Rahman’s entry into Malayalam.
His directorial debut in Hindi was ‘Zor’ with Sunny Deol in the lead. His other notable films in Hindi were ‘Sandhya’, ‘Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne’, ‘Kya Kool Hain Hum’, ‘Apna Sapna Money Money’, ‘Ek: The Power of One’, ‘Click’, and ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana’.
In 2017, he produced ‘E’, which would prove to be his last contribution in Malayalam. Gautami played the lead character of an Alzheimer’s patient in the film. Sangeeth had settled in Mumbai years ago.
Sangeeth is the son of the late photographer Sivan. He is survived by his wife Jayasree, children Sachu and Shantanu. Cinematographer Santosh Sivan and director Sanjeev Sivan are his brothers.
Sangeeth was an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled his death. “He lifted the art of cinema to diverse levels... By taking on films of different languages and unfamiliar themes, he left his distinct imprint on cinematography and direction. His contributed a new style of narration and visualisation. His demise is a big loss to Indian cinema,” the chief minister said.
Bollywood actor Ritesh Deshmukh remembered Sangeeth as a “soft spoken, gentle and a wonderful human being”. As a newcomer all you want is someone to believe in you and take a chance,” he wrote on X.
An enduring friendship
G Suresh Kumar, director
Sangeeth and I have known each other for the past 50-55 years, since our school days. We even studied in the same school from Class 1 to 4. His studio was also near my house and we used to meet almost every evening. Sangeeth was interested in photography from a young age. Later, he started directing films and went to Mumbai to make some Hindi films. Our friendship continued. When I started producing films, the relationship grew stronger – we would discuss films, new technologies and trends in filmmaking. Due to his family background, interests and knowledge of filmmaking, it was easy for Sangeeth to make good films and achieve his dreams. He had mastered the skill, and the foundation from the studio in Thiruvananthapuram helped him.
(As told to Anna Jose)