Malayalam film industry has lost one of its most talented filmmakers today. Acclaimed Malayalam filmmaker KR Sachidanandan, popularly known as Sachy, who recently delivered back-to-back successes with Ayyappanum Koshiyum and Driving License, has passed away at Thrissur due to complications arising from cardiac arrest. He was 48. 

Sachy, who had been undergoing treatment for orthopaedic issues suffered a cardiac arrest following a total hip replacement surgery. He was then transferred to another hospital in Thrissur, where he was being treated in the critical care unit with mechanical ventilation and other supportive measures.

Following the completion of Ayyapanum Koshiyum, Sachy was advised to rest and seek treatment for his leg pain. The director had been experiencing pain and discomfort while shooting the film.

Sachy is known for his successful collaborations with actor Prithviraj, which include Anarkali, Driving Licence, and Ayyappanum Koshiyum.

A former lawyer with a decade of legal experience, Sachy made his switch to screenwriting after being active in the theatre scene for a while. He made his debut alongside writing partner Sethu with the film Chocolate. The duo had written five films together.

He made his independent writing debut with Joshiy's hit film, Run Baby Run, and has served as both a script and dialogue writer on around seven films. Some of his highly successful scripts include Dileep-starrer Ramaleela and Prithviraj-starrer Driving Licence.

Sachy made his directorial debut with the Prithviraj-Biju Menon film Anarkali in 2015, and later reunited with the duo for his biggest hit, Ayyappanum Koshiyum. The film was one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of this year. Its Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi remake rights have already been sold.