Malayalam writer and director Sachidhanandan, popularly known as Sachi/Sachy, passed away on Thursday night at Thrissur’s Jubilee Mission Hospital. He was 48 years old. The hospital CEO, Dr Benny Joseph confirmed the death of the director.

He was admitted to hospital at 2 am on Tuesday, when he suffered a cardiac arrest and hypoxic brain damage, where the brain lacks enough supply of oxygen. His medical reports stated that he had a cardiac arrest after undergoing a total hip replacement surgery at another hospital in Thrissur.

Sachi made his debut in the film industry as a writer by collaborating with fellow writer and screenwriter Sethunath. The duo, known as Sachy-Sethu, went on to write hits such as Chocolate, Make Up Man, Robin Hood, and Seniors. They split after the film Doubles, which failed to do well at the box office.

Sachy debuted as a director in 2015 with the Prithviraj-starrer Anarkali. However, he shot to fame with the Prithviraj and Biju Menon-starrer Ayyappanum Koshiyum, which was released in February this year. Action thriller Ayyapanum Koshiyum, his second film, was the biggest grosser this year.

His death is a big loss to Malayalam film industry and celebrities are paying their condolences to the director.