Famous South filmmaker passes away

Mumbai: A very sad news has come out from South Cinema. Famous filmmaker Shafi passed away in Kochi. He was 56 years old. He suffered a stroke on January 16 and was hospitalized since then. The sudden death of the filmmaker has caused mourning in the South film industry. Apart from his fans, many celebrities including actors like ‘Salaar’ fame Prithviraj Sukumaran and superstar Chiyaan Vikram expressed their grief over his death on social media.

Shafi was being treated in the Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit. Mourning his death, Prithviraj Sukumaran shared a picture of Shafi on Instagram and wrote, ‘Rest and Peace brother.’ South actor Vishnu Unnikrishnan confirmed Shafi’s death on Facebook and wrote, ‘Shafi sir has left us, who will always be remembered. Tribute.’

Chiyaan Vikram shared an emotional note expressing grief over the demise of his dear friend and the ‘Thangalan’ actor also prayed for peace to his soul. He wrote, ‘Today, I lost a dear friend and the world lost a brilliant filmmaker. He was a very good person and I am very sad to say goodbye to him, someone who could see the beauty even in the difficult times of life. He is no more with us, Rest and Peace, my friend.’

MH Rashid got recognition in the South film industry by his stage name Shafi. He was well-liked for directing comedy films. He started his career as a director in 2001 with ‘One Man Show’. He directed more than 25 films in his two-decade career. Shafi’s hit films include ‘Pulival Kalyanam’, ‘Thommanum Makkalum’, ‘Mayavi’ and ‘Marikkondoru Kunjadu’. Shafi’s last comedy film as a director was ‘Anandam Parmanandam’ which was released in 2022.