Legendary Tollywood filmmaker K Viswanath breathed his last in the late hours of Thursday, putting the film lovers of the Telugu states and the rest of the country heartbroken. Sharing his grief on Twitter, veteran Malayalam superstar Mammootty wrote, “Deeply saddened by the demise of Sri K Viswanath Garu. Had the privilege of being directed by him in Swathi Kiranam (1992). My thoughts and prayers with his loved ones.” Condolences have been pouring in from all over the country for  K Viswanath, who is also known by the epithet Kalathapasvi (the sagely artist). 

Mammootty starred in Swathi Kiranam, one of K Viswanath’s more well-known works. Swathi Kiranam was Mammootty’s debut film in Telugu. Also starring Raadhika Sarathkumar, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam and Master Manjunath, Swathi Kiranam features Mammooty as Anantha Rama Sarma, an acclaimed Carnatic singer whose ego gets the better of him, when he becomes insecure by the talent of his young protegee. 

Mammooty has gone on to act in a handful of Telugu films over the next three decades, including the upcoming film Agent.