Noted art director P Krishnamoorthy (77), five time winner of the national awards, passed away in Chennai. The talented artist who did the production design of more than sixty movies in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi and English movies, however, lived a life of penury in his last days. He had struggled to raise money even for his treatment. 

The veteran artist had won three national awards for art direction and twice for costumes. 

Besides, he had also won Kerala and Tamil Nadu state awards multiple times. 

He won the national award for art direction and costume designing in the movie ‘Bharati’ which was based on the life of legendary Tamil poet Subramanya Bharati.

Krishnamoorthy was an inseparable part when film makers Bharatiraja and Balu Mahendra brought in a new wave of film making into Tamil cinema. Nadodi Thendral, Vanna Vanna Pookkal and Nan Kadavul were some of his noted works. He had also associated in Hollywood movies like Manoj Night Syamalan’s Praying With Anger and Jag Mundra’s Perfumed Garden.

He made his entry into Malayalam cinema through Swathi Thirunal directed by Lenin Rajendran in 1987. He then went on to do art designing in cult movies like Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha and Vaishali. He had worked in more than fifteen Malayalam films including Parinayam and Gazal. 

Krishnamoorthy had last worked in Ramanujan which was simultaneously released in Tamil and English in 2014.

Born in Poompuhar in Mayiladumthurai, Krishnamoorthy studied arts at the Madras School of Arts. After completing his graduation, Krishnamoorthy debuted in the theater, designing the stages and sets. Kannada movie Hamsageethe (1975) was his first film. Krishnamoorthy was cremated at Chennai. He was survived by his wife Jayalakshmi.