Renowned Malayalam music composer S Balakrishnan has passed away at Chennai, aged 69. He had been undergoing cancer treatment for a year.

A native of Chittlancherry, Palakkad, Balakrishnan was known mostly for the scores he wrote for the films of Siddique-Lal. The composer, who made his debut with Ramji Rao Speaking, wrote the scores of some of Malayalam's most popular comedies like Godfather, In Harihar Nagar, and Vietnam Colony. He worked in around 16 Malayalam films.

Balakrishnan is survived by his wife Rajalakshmi, and sons Srivalasan and Vimal Shankar.