Noted writer Chowalloor Krishnankutty passes away; CM Vijayan expresses condolence

Kochi, Jun 27: Noted devotional songwriter, screenwriter and journalist Chowalloor Krishnankutty passed away on Sunday night at a private hospital in Thrissur. He was aged 86.

Krishnankutty, who began his career as a journalist, had penned screenplays for several Malayalam movies, including 'Sreeragam', 'Prabhatasandhya', and 'Chaithanyam'. The dialogues of the movie 'Sargam' were also written by him. He had also won the Kerala state award for Best Song in drama and also the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for humour.

He joined Malayala Manorama in 1966 and retired as an assistant editor from there in 2004.

Krishnankutty wrote hundreds of devotional songs and 'Oru neramengilum' song from the album Thulasi Theertham remains one of his most popular works. He had also served as the vice-chairman of the Kerala Kalamandalam.

Expressing his condolence, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said that Krishnankutty's passing was a loss to the journalism, literature and music worlds alike.

The CM said that Krishnankutty's many popular songs and imaginative poems contributed to the cultural foundation of Malayalam literature. His demise is a great loss to the cultural scene of Kerala, Vijayan said.