Yesteryear Malayalam director and cinematographer, K Velayudhan Nair (86), popularly known as Crossbelt Mani, passed away at his residence here on Saturday. The funeral is scheduled for Sunday.
He directed around 40 films in Malayalam and earned the moniker Crossbelt Mani after the release of his second film of the same name in 1970. Crossbelt, was inspired by a play by N N Pillai and featured Sharada and Sathyan as siblings. It was a box-office hit.
Mani entered the film industry as an assistant cinematographer with Merryland Studios in 1956. He was a part of the studio till 1961.
He made his directorial debut in 1968 with Midumidukki. Some of his other films are Penpuli, Pattalam Janaki,Thimmingalam, Blackmail, Velicham Akale and Penpada. His last film, Devadas, was released in 1990.
