Palakkad: Malayalam film director Shanavas Naranipuzha passed away on Wednesday. He was 38. He died at a private hospital in Kochi at 10.20 pm .
Shanavas was admitted to a hospital in Coimbatore after he suffered a heart attack. He was later shifted to the hospital in Kochi.
An ambulance with ICU facilities had rushed Shanavas from the KG Hospital in Coimbatore to the Kochi hospital on Wednesday. When it started the journey, the plan was to cover the about 180 km in just an hour-and-a-half.
The health condition of Shanavas, who was admitted to the Coimbatore hospital on December 20 following the heart attack, turned critical on Wednesday morning. A decision to shift him was taken after his close relatives and friends felt that he could have a better chance of survival if taken to the private hospital in Kochi.
The ambulance with ICU system was arranged from Thangam Hospital in Palakkad. The police controlled the traffic on the Salem-Kochi National Highway to make way for the ambulance.
The ambulance started its journey from KG Hospital at 6.20 pm and reached Walayar on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, a distance of about 30 km, in just 21 minutes. From the border, a pilot vehicle of the Kerala police cleared traffic obstacles for the ambulance. It was assisted by a vehicle from the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The ambulance, which passed the Walayar toll plaza at 6.50 pm, crossed Wadakancherry around 7.30 pm and rushed towards Kuthiran. There were fears of traffic bottlenecks at Kuthiran, but the intervention of police facilitated a smooth passage for the vehicle.
Vehicles at the Paliyekkara toll plaza were let to pass even before the ambulance reached the spot in an attempt to reduce the traffic.
Shanavas suffered another heart attack during the trip. Around 9 pm, he was admitted to Aster Medicity in Kochi and immediately transferred to the medical ICU. He, however, died at 10.20 pm.
Shanavas suffered a heart attack while staying in Attappadi to prepare the screenplay for a new film. He wrote the screenplay and directed the film 'Sufiyum Sujathayum', the first Malayalam film to be released on OTT platform.
Shanavas is the son of Baputti and Nabeesa of Naranipuzha in Ponnani. He also wrote the story, screenplay and directed the films Parajitha and Karie. He also did more than 10 short films, including 'God’s Own Country', 'SMS' and 'Door to Door'.
His is survived by wife Shabna and son is Adam. His burial will be held on Thursday at the Naranipuzha Juma Masjid.
