Journalism of Courage
Jishnu Raghavan
Malayalam actor Jishnu Raghavan passed away at the age of 35 after prolonged battle with cancer. Jishnu passed away on Friday (March 25) morning at a hospital in Kochi. Jishnu was diagnosed with cancer two years ago and had been completely cured of it. But his cancer relapsed last year and since then he had been undergoing treatment for the same.
Rajesh Vivek
Bollywood actor Rajesh Vivek, mainly known for his roles in superhits like ‘Lagaan’ and ‘Swades’, died due to a heart attack in Hyderabad on January 14. He was 66. “Rajesh passed away in Hyderabad due to a heart attack. He was shooting there for a south Indian film. It is very shocking news,” said Vivek’s friend Vishnu Sharma. Rajesh Vivek was first introduced by Shyam Benegal in his film ‘Junoon’ (1978). Basically a theatre actor, he had also acted in popular television series ‘Mahabharata’, ‘Bharat Ek Khoj’ and in ‘Aghori’.
Kalabhavan Mani
Popular Malayalam actor and folk singer Kalabhavan Mani passed away at a hospital in Kochi on March 6. He was 45. He had been hospitalised for liver ailment. Mani had bagged national special jury award in 2000 for his performance in Malayalam film Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njaanum.
Rajesh Pillai
Malayalam film director Rajesh Pillai passed away on February 27 at PVS hospital in Kochi. He was 41. He was admitted to the hospital on February 25 and immediately put on the ventilator. The director who is known for path-breaking Malayalam films such as “Traffic” and “Mili” was suffering from liver cirrhosis.
Kalpana Ranjani
Noted Malayalam film actress Kalpana Ranjani, known as Kalpana, died in Hyderabad on January 25 morning due to heart attack. She was 51. Kalpana was in Hyderabad for the shooting of a Telugu film. She was brought dead at Apollo Hospitals from her hotel room, where she was found unconscious early morning today.
Nirosha
A 23-year-old music channel VJ allegedly committed suicide in her hostel room in Sindhi Colony in Secunderabad early on Wednesday. K Nirosha, who worked with Gemini Music Channel (Telugu) and hails from Chittoor district, took the extreme step after having a tiff with her boyfriend, police suspect. Officials at Ramgopalpet police station said Nirosha had an argument with her boyfriend, who lives in Canada, during a video call. She could have hanged herself while the call was still on, they suspect.
Shan Johnson
Shan Johnson (29), singer and daughter of famous Malayalam music composer Johnson who passed away in August 2011, was found dead in her Chennai apartment on February 5. Sources close to her family said she was working in Chennai and stayed at an apartment near Kodambakkam.
Sai Prashanth
Popular Tamil TV actor Sai Prashanth committed suicide at his residence in Chennai, police said, adding he had left a suicide note saying no one must be blamed for his death. Prashanth is said to have mixed poison in his drink and consumed it, which led to his death. He was 30. Police said the reason behind Prashanth’s suicide could be loneliness and depression.
V.D. Rajappan
One of Kerala’s most popular Kadhaprasangam (story telling) artistes and film comedian V.D. Rajappan passed away in March at a private hospital. Rajappan, 70, was ailing for the past few years. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
