Malayalam lyricist Poovachal Khader succumbs to Covid-19

Eminent lyricist-poet Poovachal Khader succumbed to Covid-19 complications on Tuesday. The 72-year-old was undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.

In a career spanning over five decades, Khader had penned more than 1400 songs in over 400 films. He is accredited to a handful of evergreen romantic hits in Mollywood.

Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, condoled his death as he wrote, “The demise of poet Poovachal Khader, who made a very remarkable contribution in the film industry, is a huge loss to the world of literature.” He also mentioned how Khader had written lyrics for the highest number of film songs in Malayalam.

Khader entered the film world with the help of I V Sasi and made his debut as a lyricist with Kavitha, directed by Vijaya Nirmala. Since then, the artist came a long way and established himself as one of the most sought-after lyricists in Malayalam cinema.

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Being one of the most promising lyricists in the 1970s and 80s, Khader dominated the Malayalam film industry for more than a decade. He had collaborated with almost every veteran composer in the Malayalam cinema including Peter Reuben, AT Ummer, Shyam, Raghu Kumar, Jerry Amaldev, Ilayaraja, and Shankar Ganesh among others.

The veteran lyricist made a tremendous contribution in building the Malayalam film industry. Some of his popular songs include Natha Nee Varum Kalocha (Chamaram), Mouname Nirayum Mouname (Thakara), Etho Janma Kalpanayil (Palangal), Ithile Ekanay (Ottappettavar), Rithumathiyay Thelimanam (Mazhanilavu) and Anuragini Ithayen (Oru Kudakeezhil) among others.

The lyricist’s final rites will be held at Poovachal Juma Masjid today. He is survived by his wife and two children. People from the film fraternity are paying tribute to the late lyricist.

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