Panchu Arunachalam, celebrated filmmaker, passes away in Chennai aged 75

Veteran filmmaker Panchu Arunachalam passed away on the morning of Tuesday, 9 August 2016, in Chennai. He was 75. [caption id=“attachment_2944806” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Panchu Arunachalam. Image courtesy: Twiter[/caption] Arunachalam was known known for shaping the careers of Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, composer Ilaiayaraaja and Goundamani. The writer, director, lyricist and producer was also recently conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award at SIIMA 2016 in Singapore. Arunachalam started producing films under his production banner named PA Arts in the late 1970s. The nephew of the late poet Kannadasan, Arunachalam also wrote super hit songs like ‘Manmagale Marumagale Vaa Vaa’ in Sharada and ‘Poopola Poopala’ in Naanum Oru Penn. He wrote dialogues for Avanthan Manithan starring Sivaji. The film fraternity was quick to pay their respects to the veteran filmmaker:

Incidentally, veteran South Indian film actress Jyothi Lakshmi, who was known for her ‘item numbers’ and ‘vamp’ roles, also passed away in Chennai on Tuesday . The 63-year-old actress had been undergoing treatment for cancer.