Veteran Tamil filmmaker and scriptwriter K. N. Panchu Arunachalam, who had worked with top stars including Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, died on August 9 at the age of 76.
Arunachalam had a heart attack at his home in Chennai, sources close to his family said. He is survived by wife Meena, two sons and two daughters. His son, Subbu Panchu, is an actor.
Arunachalam, who produced several box-office hits in his more than three-decade long career, helped veteran musician Ilayaraja get his first major composing job in the film industry with the 1976 film Annakkili.
An assistant of celebrated lyricist Kannadasan, Arunachalam later floated his own production company, PA Art Productions, which produced many films starring Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.
Arunachalam also penned the story for Rajinikanth’s hit film Murattu Kalai.
Leading Tamil actors, producers and directors including Surya, Sivakumar, Nasser, Bharathiraja, Venkatprabu, Khushboo Sundar, A. L. Alagappan and others have paid tribute to Arunachalam.
His body will be kept in the hospital for two days as his son and daughter are yet to arrive from abroad, sources added.
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