Thiruvananthapuram: Famous theatre director and actor Prashanth Narayanan (51) passed away on Thursday due to a heart attack. He was admitted to the General Hospital in the morning after he fell ill.
A strong presence in the Indian theatre scene for over 30 years, he directed Mohanlal and Mukesh for his play 'Chhayamukhi'.
Born to Kathakali writer Vellayani Narayanan Nair and K Shanthakumari Amma, Prashanth was educated at Thiruvananthapuram St. Joseph High School, Iringol Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, Thiruvananthapuram University College and School of Drama, Thrissur.
He was famous as a columnist, teacher, journalist, actor, director and playwright. At the age of 17, he wrote and edited Bharatantham attakatha for Kathakali. He wrote 30 plays including Thoppikkaran, Arachacharitam, Balloonukal, Janalakkappuram, Vajramukhan, Manikarnika, Chhayamukhi, Makaradhwajan (supported by the Central Department of Culture), Chitralekha and Kara.
His major directorial venture includes Tagore's Post Office, Shakespeare's Hamlet, Bhasa's Urubhanga, Dutaghatotkacham, Swapna Vasavadattam (for Dharwad Rangayana at the invitation of the Karnataka government), and Mahasagaram based on the life and works of M T Vasudevan Nair.
Kalam is a theatre company that started its operations in July 2015 under his chairmanship. The Sanskrit play Swapna Vasavadattam, which had been unsuccessfully attempted by many auteurs, reasserted his prominent position in the Indian theatre scene.
Prashanth won several honours including the Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award for best writing in theatre in 2004, Durgadatta Award in 2011, AP Kalaikkat Award in 2015 and Abu Dhabi Shakti Award in 2016 among others.
The play 'Mahasagaram' presented at the 'MT Kalam Navathivandanam' organised by 'Manorama Online' was the last time he graced the stage.
His body will be placed for the public to pay homage at Vailoppilly Sanskriti Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram at 10 am on Friday. He will be taken to his residence at Kaladi in the city around 1 pm. The cremation will take place at Shantikavadam at 3:30 pm.
