Malayalam actor, writer, and playwright, P. Balachandran, has passed away aged 69. He was reportedly ill for a several months before his death on Monday. His work both on screen and on stage is critically acclaimed. Before he started working in cinema with Bhadran's Uncle Bun in 1991, he had already made a name in theater. He won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and Kerala Professional Nataka Award in 1989 for the play Paavam Usman.
He made his directorial debut with Ivan Megharoopan based on the life of Malayalam poet P. Kunhiraman Nair. It starred Prakash Bare, Padmapriya, Shweta Menon, and Remya Nambeesan in key roles.
This year, he starred in Santhosh Vishwanath's political thriller titled One. The movie explores the governance and duties of an ideal Chief Minister with Mammootty playing the role of Kerala's Chief Minister and stars Balachandran as the Opposition MLA Attingal Madhusoodanan.
While he made his acting debut as an extra in Richard Attenborough's directorial Gandhi, he went on to act in several films including Mahasamudram, Trivandrum Lodge, and Kolaambi.
Producer Vijayan EastCoast shared a picture of the veteran actor on Facebook and expressed his condolences, "Heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of actor, writer and director P. Balachandran today." Actor Jayasurya also prayed for the departed soul.
Balachandran is survived by his wife Sreelatha and his children, Sreekanth and Parvathy.