Malayalam actor, writer and veteran filmmaker Sreenivasan dies at 69 after health complications in Kochi

Highlights:

• Malayalam actor and writer Sreenivasan dies in Kochi aged 69
• He was an influential voice in Malayalam cinema, known for sharp humour and human stories
• Hospital confirmed he died after breathing complications during treatment
• His films and scripts shaped public debate in Kerala for decades
• Tributes recognised a man who brought ordinary life to screen without fuss

Sreenivasan has died in Kochi at 69, ending one of the most influential runs in Malayalam cinema. He was being taken for dialysis on Saturday when he developed breathing trouble, and doctors at the Government Taluk Hospital in Tripunithura said he died around 8.30am. The industry has lost a writer-performer who pulled Kerala society into his stories with humour, politics and small, real lives.

Sreenivasan death at 69 leaves Kerala asking how Malayalam cinema lost its sharpest critic Instagram/cinemosophy

How Sreenivasan shaped Malayalam cinema through acting and writing

He was born in Pattiam, Kannur, on 6 April 1956. He studied economics, then moved to Chennai for film studies. His debut came in 1976 in PA Backer’s Manimuzhakkam. Work never slowed after that. He wrote, acted, directed, and sometimes produced. The tag that stuck was “versatile”, though his peers often said he was simply honest about human behaviour.

From the mid-1980s, Sreenivasan became a trusted voice in writing rooms. Odaruthammava Aalariyam in 1984 began a run that later included Sandesam, Thalayana Manthram and long collaborations with Priyadarshan and Sathyan Anthikkad. People quoted lines from his films as political shorthand. That was the scale of his impact.

As an actor, he refused the usual image-building. He was plain on screen, not the swaggering lead. Yet he carried films such as Vadakkunokkiyanthram, in which insecurity and comedy sat together without judgement. In Ponmuttayidunna Thaaravu, he played the cheated lover. In Kadha Parayumbol, he was the barber whose friendship with a star gave the film its emotional weight.

Why Sreenivasan stayed relevant for decades

Sreenivasan stayed alert to change. He acted in Passenger and Kerala Cafe. He could slide into satire or darker shades, as in Kilichundan Mambazham and Kaalapani. Even brief stints like the comrade doctor in Sakhavu left a mark.

Budgets were small in Malayalam cinema through much of his career. Scale was never the selling point, but story was. His scripts used humour as a doorway to a point. Sandesam is still cited in Kerala politics. It mocked party obsession without cruelty, and people still share lines from the film in everyday talk.

He directed twice. Vadakkunokkiyanthram won a Kerala State Award. Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala won a National Award for social issues. Both films stood on familiar characters rather than heroic arcs.

What the film industry said after his death

He had heart surgery in 2022 and had been unwell. Friends said he kept his clarity even when his mobility fell away. Director Sathyan Anthikkad said he spoke to him as recently as Thursday, describing a sharp-minded man tired of illness.

Public mourning began quickly. The body was moved from the hospital to his home, and will be placed at Ernakulam Town Hall for people to pay their respects. Cremation will follow at his residence. He is survived by his wife, Vimala, and sons Vineeth and Dhyan, both actors.

Film fans recall characters Sreenivasan shaped with comedy pain and ordinary lifeInstagram/hudzon.pixels

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called the death an “irreparable loss”, noting that Sreenivasan used humour to tell social truths. The tributes shared one line of thought. He never looked like a giant, but his work stood tall.