Director AB Raj (Raj Antony Bhaskar), passed away in Chennai on Sunday due to cardiac arrest. He was 95.
The veteran filmmaker AB Raj, who hails from Alappuzha made films during 1951 to 1986. Raj, who made over 70 films in Malayalam and Tamil films is the father of acclaimed actress Saranya Ponvannan. He died at his daughter’s residence in Virugambakkam, Chennai at around 8 pm and the last rituals is said to be performed on Monday at 3 PM.
His debut movie was ‘Kaliyalla Kalyanam,’ in the year 1968, and in 1971 he made his Tamil debut with the film ‘Thulliyodum Pulliman,’ which was the remake of the Malayalam film ‘Chirikkudukka.’ He made many hits with stars including Prem Nazir, Jayan and Mohanlal and popular filmmakers like IV Sasi, Hariharan and Rajasekharan are his disciples.
He has also directed around 11 films in the language of Sinhalese, while he lived in Sri Lanka.
Interestinghly, he had co-directed David Lean’s famous film Bridge on the River Quay.