Well known Malayalam poet and lyricist Anil Panachooran passed away at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday night following health complications. Panachooran, who tested positive for Covid-19 a few days ago, is said to have collapsed earlier in the day and was admitted at private hospitals at Kayamkulam and Karunagappally before he was shifted to Thiruvananthapuram. The exact reason of death is yet to be ascertained, said sources from the hospital. Panachooran’s cremation will be held after a post mortem as the Kayamkulam Police has registered a case for 'unnatural death' on Monday based on his wife, Maya’s statement.
A lawyer, Panachooran shot to fame through poems such as Anadhan, Kaneerkanalugal, Pranayakalam, Oru Mazha Peythengil and Valayil veena kilikal. His poems reached people through cassettes and five poetry collections were released thus. His works from Mahaprasthanam for instance, made him a fiery presence at poetry venues. Anadhan was used by filmmaker Jayaraj in his Makalkku (To My Daughter). The film is about a mentally deranged woman, played by Shobhana, who wanders the street and her child taken care of by a doctor, played by Suresh Gopi.
A native of Kayamkulam, Panachooran was born to Panachoor Veetil Udayabhanu and Draupadi on November 20, 1965. A staunch political activist, he abandoned it in 1991. He studied at the Kerala Law Academy, Thiruvananthapuram, and Kakatiya University, Warangal. Panachooran worked as a lawyer and later dabbled in songwriting for films.
Panachooran shot to fame in the film industry through Lal Jose’s Arabikkatha for which he had penned a few songs. While Chora Veena Mannil... sung with revolutionary fervour by the poet himself is played regularly in Left cultural events, Thirike Njan, which had lines bringing out the pain of expatriates living away from their family members was extremely popular amongst the non-resident Keralites. He went on to pen several songs in the Malayalam industry that touched on a variety of subjects.
Panachooran had the ability of infusing in the essence of the storyline and delivering what the subject of the movie demanded in his lyrics. Vyathyasthanam oru barber... from Kadha Parayumbol, a humour-laced song topped the hit charts for a long time. Jimikki Kammal... from Velipadinte Pusthakam, with its catchy, yet simple lyrics, inspired from folk songs, went viral when American television presenter and comedian Jimmy Kimmel, whose name resembles the title of the song, tweeted about it, leading to millions of views on YouTube. It spawned several dance video covers from across the globe. In a lyrical career mainly between 2007 and 2020 in the Malayalam film industry, he had written over 220 songs in the short span of time. He also dabbled in acting and acted in Arabikkatha (2007), Manikyakkallu (2011), Chila Neram Chila Manushyar (2011) and Yathra Chodikkathe (2015)
Panachooran, who penned his last lyrics for the movie Within Seconds was reportedly working on his directorial debut film Kaadu.
He is survived by wife, Maya, and their children Maitreyi and Arun.
