Naranipuzha Shanavas, director of Sufiyum Sujatayum, on ventilator support after cardiac arrest

Naranipuzha Shanavas, a renowned Malayalam director and screenwriter, was declared brain dead on Wednesday (23 December) morning. The director of Sufiyum Sujatayum, who is in his early 40s, is on ventilator support. According to a report by The News Minute, Shanavas was on the sets of a film in Palakkad’s Attapadi when he suffered a heart attack. He went into a cardiogenic shock on Monday. The director was rushed to the KG Hospital in Coimbatore. There has been no improvement in his health since he was admitted to the ICU on Saturday night. Earlier there were rumours that the director had passed away. However, slamming reports about Shanavas’ death, actor-producer Vijay Babu took to his Facebook and said, “Shanavas is still on ventilator support. His heart is still beating…. request all to pls pray for him.” Vijay Babu also wrote that the health condition of Shanavas will be notified to his fans and followers. He even asked everyone not to post wrong information. See the post

Shanavas made his directorial debut in 2015 with the critically acclaimed film Karie. The film is about caste discrimination and revolves around a man belonging to an oppressed caste playing Karinkali (God), whom people from the dominant caste bow to in reverence. Shanavas, who hails from Naranippuzha in Malappuram, gained more attention for Sufiyum Sujatayum starring Jayasurya, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Dev Mohan. The film was released on 3 July this year and is the first Malayalam film that directly released on the OTT platform. Sufiyum Sujathayum is bankrolled by Vijay Babu under his production banner Friday Film House.