National Award-winning cinematographer and director Sivan suffered a cardiac arrest on Thursday (June 24) and breathed his last at his home in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He was 89. His funeral and last rites are expected to be performed later.
Sivan, who was an eyewitness to the history of United Kerala before and after, has captured many precious moments including the swearing-in-ceremony of the first Kerala cabinet. He had won the National Film Awards thrice. He had clicked the iconic stills of some of the most popular Indian leaders. He had also served as the still photographer in several iconic films including Chemmeen, the Ramu Karyat directed classic. He was the first government press photographer in Travancore and eventually worked his way to becoming one of the most celebrated cinematographers and directors in the Malayalam film industry. He found the highly popular Sivan Studios in Thiruvananthapuram in 1959. His wife Chandramani Sivan predeceased him. Sivan is survived by his sons cinematographer-filmmaker Santhosh Sivan, filmmakers Sangeeth Sivan and Sanjeev Sivan, and daughter Saritha Rajeev Udayabhanu.
