Malayalam filmmaker Ashokan passes away at 60 after prolonged illness

Malayalam filmmaker Ashokan (alias Raman Ashok Kumar) breathed his last on the night of Sunday, September 25. He was 60 years old. He was admitted to a private hospital in Kochi for nearly a month. Before making his independent directorial debut, Ashokan worked as an associate with director J Sasikumar, who has more than 130 films to his credit.

In 1989, Ashokan made his debut with Varnam, which is a psychological drama starring Suresh Gopi, Jayaram and Ranjini in lead roles. His second film was Acharyan, which was written by journalist-script writer, B Jayachandran. Ashokan had also collaborated with Thaha and together, they churned out two films, Sandram and Mookkilla Rajyathu. Post this, Ashokan took a small break from films. In 2003, he made his comeback with a telefilm titled Melody of Loneliness. The film was the recipient of the Kerala State Award.