K.R. Sachidanandan, popularly known as Sachy, who died on Thursday at the age of 48, was one of Malayalam cinema’s most successful scriptwriters of his generation. Both the films he directed were hits.
His last film as a director, Ayyappanum Koshiyum, was still attracting large audiences when cinemas were shut down following the outbreak of COVID-19. The film he wrote before that, Driving License, had also hit the bull’s eye at the box office.
His end came at a time when his career was beginning to peak
Sachy had a knack for writing commercial cinema. Most of his films – whether he wrote on his own or in partnership with fellow-lawyer Sethu – were hits. He could tell a tale without tiring the viewer at all, as he did with Ayyappanum Koshiyum.
The thriller starring Prithviraj and Biju Menon had a running time of more than three hours – that is too long by any standards – but he was able to have his viewer glued to the seat till the end. That was also the case with Run Baby Run, the first film he had gone solo with as a scriptwriter.
Sachy had made his debut, along with Sethu, in 2007 with a comedy, though. Chocolate had an interesting premise – the only man studying in a women's college. Prithviraj had essayed that role. When Sachy made his directorial debut with Anarkali in 2015, the actor played the hero once again.
12 films
In 13 years, he was part of 12 films. He was planning to direct another film before the pandemic outbreak. But its script was not going to be his though.
“The screenplay would be co-authored by G.R. Indugopan, whose short story the film is based on,” Sachy had told this writer over the phone two months ago.
He had then spoken about Ayyappanum Koshiyum and how happy he was that a song from the film, Kalakatha sandana..., was used for a video by the Kerala Police to show how to wash hands properly as a precaution against COVID-19.
The song had gone viral and it was reported by global television channels like the BBC, Fox News, Sky News and Russia Today.
Ayyappanum Koshyium also had made news recently when its Hindi remake rights were bought by Bollywood star John Abraham. The Tamil rights were bagged by producer Kathiresan.
Sachy could not live long enough to see how the rivals Ayyappan and Koshi spoke in Hindi or Tamil.
State honours
Special Correspondent writes from Kochi: The mortal remains of Sachy were consigned to flames with full official honours at the Ravipuram crematorium here on Friday.
People from various walks of life, including his friends and well-wishers in Malayalam film industry, turned up to pay their last respects.
