Mollywood bids adieu to Diphan, a positive soul and passionate filmmaker

Diphan usually is the most positive face you would see on the sets of his movies — that’s the common sentiment shared by those who have worked or visited the sets of the films that the filmmaker has been part of.
Be it as an assistant director in Shaji Kailas’ films or his own seven movies that included Puthiya Mugham and Dolphins, Diphan made sure that everyone on his sets were at ease and had a fun time shooting the film.That explains why his set of friends includes veteran directors such as Shaji Kailas to stars such as Prithviraj and Unni Mukundan.
The filmmaker, who was undergoing treatment for the last few weeks, passed away due to kidney failure and complications from liver-related ailments in a private hospital in Kochi on Monday. He was 47. His body will be cremated in Trivandrum today.
Diphan is the son of dubbing artiste Anandavally and is survived by wife Deepa and sons Madhavan and Mahadevan.
He had recently finished shooting for Jayaram-starrer Satya, which was set to hit theatres by March end. He was in the process of finishing its post-production work when he was hospitalised due to the ailments.
Anoop Menon
He had the potential of making an actor a star — be in PuthiyaMugham or D Company. Very few directors have that quality. He also had a sensitive side and I found that out while he shot the song Oh Mridule for Dolphins within a 500 sq ft set and yet captured all the essence of the emotions. I personally think he would have gone on to make more such films, rather than stick to action movies, if Dolphins had become a hit.
Priyamani
Diphan was a man of humour and energy. He made our shoot of Puthiya Mugham a memorable one. I remember an incident during the shoot of the film, when Bala had to say Thottupokaruthu avale and he blurted out thottupokaruthu thavale. Diphan was the first to point it out and the entire set burst out laughing. Every time I think of him, his smiling face comes to my mind. We were in talks for a project and I was looking forward to working with him again.
Jayaram
He was passionate about his movies. I always wanted to work with him since his assistant director days with Shaji Kailas. We got the chance to collaborate on Satya and he put on such an energetic face on the sets despite having health setbacks. After the dubbing of Satya was over, he was eagerly looking forward to its release. It’s easily one of the best action films I have done and that’s because of Diphan’s commitment.
Prithviiraj
Will miss you Diphan chetan! Thank you for giving me one of the most important films in my career. Rest in peace now..rest in peace! (sic).
Unni Mukundan
Rest in peace Diphan cheta... you were a true friend... a loveable soul... I will cherish our talks, laughter and the cricket matches we played together... you left us too early .... I will miss you a lot cheta. Puthiya Mugham was the movie that brought theatres to life! U were the best Mass Movie director! Love you
brother. Rest in peace brother (sic).