Veteran film producer, scriptwriter and lyricist Panchu Arunachalam passed away on Monday. The filmmaker was 75 and is survived by his wife and four children.
Arunachalam is the one who introduced music maestro Ilayaraja as music director in his film Annakili. He is also credited to shaping the careers of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. Recently, Superstar Rajini had held a special screening of Kabali for ailing Arunachalam in Chennai.
Popular poet Kannadasan was Panchu Arunachalam's uncle, with whom he worked as an assistant for many years.
Arunachalam has directed four movies, Manamagale Vaa, Puthu Paatu, Kalikalam and Thambi Pondatti. As a writer, he has written over 100 films, and as a lyricist, Arunachalam has penned over 200 songs.
Popular South Indian celebrities expressed condolences via Twitter:
