Padmanabhan Balachandran Nair (2 February 1952 – 5 April 2021) was an Indian writer, playwright, scenarist, director, and actor. He was known for his work in

Malayalam literature Malayalam, the lingua franca of the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puduchery, is one of the six classical languages of India. Malayalam literature comprises those literary text ...

and

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

Career

Balachandran is best known for the play ''Paavam Usman'' for which he won the

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award is given each year, since 1958, by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy), to Malayalam writers for their outstanding books of literary merit. The awards are given in various categories.

and Kerala Professional Nataka Award in the year 1989. He has scripted many films including '' Ulladakkam'' (1991), '' Pavithram'' (1994), '' Agnidevan'' (1995), '' Punaradhivasam'' (2000), and ''

Kammatti Paadam ''Kammatipaadam'', alternatively spelled as ''Kammatti Paadam'', is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language action drama film directed by Rajeev Ravi and written by P. Balachandran. The film stars Dulquer Salmaan, Vinayakan, Shaun Romy, Manikandan R. ...

'' (2016). His directorial debut is '' Ivan Megharoopan'' (2012). He has also acted in a few films, the most notable being ''

Trivandrum Lodge ''Trivandrum Lodge'' is a 2012 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by V. K. Prakash, written by Anoop Menon, and produced by P. A. Sebastian. The film stars Jayasurya, Anoop Menon, and Honey Rose, and features P. Balachandran and P ...

'' (2012).

Personal life

He was born to Padmanabha Pillai and Saraswati Bhai on 2 February 1952, in

Sasthamkotta Sasthamkotta or Sasthamcotta is a village in the Kunnathoor Tehsil of Kollam district in the state of Kerala, India. Kunnathoor taluk headquarters is located at Sasthamkotta. The Sasthamkotta freshwater lake is the largest freshwater lake i ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. He was married to Sreelatha and the couple had two children, Sreekanth and Parvathy.

Death

Balachandran died at the age of 69 on 5 April 2021 at his house in

Vaikom Vaikom () is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality in the Kottayam district of Kerala. It is located north of the district headquarters in Kottayam and about north of the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, V ...

. He had suffered from

brain fever Brain fever (or cerebral fever) is an outdated medical term that was used as a synonym for phrensy, beginning in early 19th century medical literature. Supposedly the brain becomes inflamed and causes a variety of symptoms, most notably mental co ...

for a long time and was hospitalized many times, the last time being in July 2020. His body was cremated with full state honours.

Awards

* 1989:

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for writing a drama of literary merit. It is one of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award#Awards, twel ...

– ''Paavam Usman'' * 2008:

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award is an award given by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Department of Cultu ...

for Drama

Filmography

As actor

As director

As script writer

References

External links

*
P Balachandran at MSI
1952 births Male actors from Kollam Writers from Kollam Malayalam-language writers Malayalam-language dramatists and playwrights Indian male film actors Male actors in Malayalam cinema Malayalam screenwriters Malayalam film directors 2021 deaths Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Screenwriters from Kerala Film directors from Kollam district Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award {{India-film-director-stub