Sasi Shanker, the National award-winning film-maker passed away. The director, who was found unconscious at his residence, breathed his last at a private hospital in Kochi, where he was admitted. Reportedly, the cremation will only take place after his son arrives from Chennai. Sasi Shanker is survived by his wife Beena Shanker, son Vishnu Sasi Shanker and daughter Meenakshi Shanker. The director made his debut in 1993 with the acclaimed movie Narayam, which had Urvashi and Murali in the lead roles. Narayam had won the National Film Award for the Best Movie On Social Issues.
He made his first commercial attempt in 1995, with the Jagathy Sreekumar-Kalpana starrer Punnaram. Later, he directed several successful films, including Manthramothiram, Guru Sishyan, and Mr. Butler. Sasi Shanker tasted the biggest success of his career in 2002, with the Dileep starrer Kunjikoonan. He made his Tamil debut in 2004, with Surya-Jyothika starrer Perazhagan, the remake of Kunjikoonan. His last Malayalam outing was Sarkar Dada, the 2005-released movie which had Jayaram and Navya Nair in the lead roles. Sasi's last directorial venture was the 2014-released Tamil flick, Pagadai Pagadai.
