'Thallumaala' editor Nishad Yusuf's untimely death at the peak of his career has dealt a huge blow to the Malayalam and Tamil film industry. The Alappuzha native died by suicide in Kochi on Wednesday. His latest work was Suriya-starrer 'Kanguva', which was expected to hit theatres on November 14.
He was also part of Mammootty-starrer 'Bazooka' and was expected to edit the Malayalam film 'Alappuzha Gymkhana'. Having started his career as an animator, he switched to editing, starting off with serials. He always showed the will to experiment and innovate and directors who shared his sensibilities couldn't think of another editor.
'Udal' director Ratheesh Reghunandan said Nishad joined Mollywood when there were very few films in which he could explore his potential as an editor. “His vision as an editor was very different. When he joined the industry, there were very films that had the vision he carried. However, this changed with films like 'Unda', 'Operation Java' and 'Thallumaala.' In fact, 'Thallumaala', brought him a lot of attention outside Kerala,” said Ratheesh, who was Nishad's close friend. Nishad had also worked in 'Udal' as the film editor. “Nishad would never commit to do many films. He only took up work that attracted him. Directors were always satisfied with his work, because he would take it to another level,” added Ratheesh.

'Petta Rap' director S J Sinu who had worked with him in the Prabhu Deva-starrer remembered Nishad as someone who was totally committed to his work. “Another editor was initially involved in 'Petta Rap', but that did not work out. This is when I reached out to Nishad. He is not someone who would commit to work easily but said yes when he saw the footage of our film. 'Petta Rap' had a similar vibe to Thallumaala and he saw potential in the film,” said Sinu.

The director claimed Nishad's name in the film was one of the highlights for Prabhu Deva when he joined the film. “Prabhu Deva is devastated with the news of Nishad's death since he had planned to involve Nishad in his upcoming directorial. In fact, his death has shocked all of us. He was at the peak of his career with a great future ahead of him. He was not a dreamer but was very ambitious. Many filmmakers in Tamil Nadu too had taken note of him,” said Sinu.

Though Onmanorama tried to contact 'Thallumaala' and 'Unda' director Khalid Rahman, he was not available for comments.

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