One of the most famous screenwriters and director that Mollywood produced in the last decade, A.K. Lohithadas, died in hospital at Kochi on Sunday morning, following a massive heart attack. Lohithadas, who complained of chest pain at his home at Desam near Aluva was rushed to a private hospital in Aluva, but was later shifted to Lisie Hospital, Kochi by about 10.50 am. However, efforts to save his life didn't work out and the end came at about 11.30 am leaving the entire industry in a deep shock.

Survived by wife Sindhu and sons Harikrishnan and Vijayasankar, Lohithadas started his career as a playwright. In Tamil, he directed ‘Kasthoorimaan’ starring Prasanna, Meera Jasmine, Thilakan, Karunas and Raghuvaran, which was a remake of Malayalam movie with same name.

In 1987, he made a mark with the debut film, ‘Thaiyavarathanam’, directed by Sibi Malayil which won many awards in many festivals. The ‘Sibi-Lohi’ duo was immensely successful in Malayalam cinema, creating continuous hits after hits in the nineties which include Kireedom, His Highness Abdullah, Bharatham and Kamaladalam to name a few. A writer whose works literally liberated the Mollywood to meaningful cinema, he created 44 screenplays and directed 12 films in his career that lasted twenty two years.