Kamal Haasan pays emotional tribute to MT Vasudevan in Malayalam: ‘Don’t have the heart to bid you farewell, Sir…’

CHENNAI: Veteran actor Kamal Haasan, who worked with MT Vasudevan Nair in films like Kanyakumari and Manorathangal, mourned the loss of a mentor and dear friend. Known for his immense contributions as a screenwriter, director, and producer, Vasudevan Nair, popularly known as MT, was a towering figure in Indian literature and cinema.

In a post on social media platform X, the actor recalled, “My friendship with him as the creator of the film 'Kanyakumari', which introduced me to the Malayalam screen world, is now fifty years old, continued till the recent 'Manorathangal’.”

Further, in a stirring audio tribute to MT recorded in Malayalam, Kamal said, “Be it those who want to be writers. Be it those who think themselves to be writers. Be it those who are acknowledged as writers. All of them... when they think of MT Vasudevan Nair sir's works, it will evoke many feleings inside them --- respect, jealousy, fear, love... they will feel all of these emotions.

“I was just 19 years old then. I did not fully understand MTV sir's greatness when I was acting in the Kanyakumari film (1974). A short while after that, I watched his film Nirmalyam (1973). If my love/desire for cinema was a small lamp, Nirmalyam made it into a fire pit. According to me, Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal, MTV Sir, Girish Karnad... although they were born in different states, they are all brethren,” he added.

Concluding his emotional eulogy for the late writer, Kamal said, “Bidding farewell is one that is done for common individuals, MTV sir and his literary contributions will stay with us for many hundreds of years more... they will live on after us, too. I don't have the heart to bid you farewell, Sir, forgive me,” he said.

Jnanpith Award winner MT Vasudevan Nair, who had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kozhikode following heart failure, died on Wednesday night. He was 91.

He authored nine novels, and 19 collections of short stories, directed six films, wrote around 54 screenplays, many of which are regarded as classics, including Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989), Kadavu (1991), and Sadayam (1992), and published several collections of essays and memoirs over a career spanning seven decades. He was also editor of periodicals with the Mathrubhumi Group of Publications, and Chief Editor of Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly. He retired in 1998 after over four decades of service in journalism.

MT Vasudevan Nair was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the country's third-highest civilian award, and the Jnanpith, the highest literary recognition. He was also a recipient of the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, among others.