One of the greatest writers of Malayalam, M.T. Vasudevan Nair, passed away on 25th December after spending nine days in a Kozhikode (Kerala) hospital. He was 91. He was a filmmaker of repute, besides being an author and a screenplay writer.
MT was awarded the Jnanpith award in 2005 and was also honoured with the Padma Bhushan. In all, he wrote the screenplays for 54 films and won National Awards for best screenplay four times — for Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, Kadavu, Sadayam and Parinayam. The first film for which he wrote the screenplay is Murappennu (1965). He directed six films including Nirmalyam (1973), Manju (1983) and Oru Cheru Punchiri (2000).
MT married writer and translator Prameela in 1965, but separated from her after 11 years. He later married dancer Kalamandalam Saraswathi. They had two daughters, Sithara and Ashwathi.