'Totally unexpected, hoped that he will comeback, great loss to Malayalm cinema' Mammootty remembers his dear friend

Actor Mammootty has reacted to the demise of famous screenwriter John Paul. "John Paul's death was totally unexpected. I had come here and talked to him. I thought that he would come back. It is a great loss to Malayalam cinema. His death is a great loss to film literature," Mammootty said.

The actor spoke about his favourite screenwriter while speaking to the media after expressing condolences to John Paul's family at Kochi hospital. John Paul had been undergoing treatment for kidney disease for the past two months. He died at around 1 pm today.

He had written screenplays for numerous popular movies starring Mohanlal and Mammootty in the 1980s and 1990s. He had scripted several hit films such as ‘Kathodu Kathoram’, ‘Kattathe Kilikkoodu’, ‘Ina’, ‘Unnikale Oru Kadha Parayam’, ‘Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam’, ‘Athirathram’, ‘Keli’, ‘Chamayam’, ‘Oru Yathra Mozhi’, ‘Kodiyettam’ and ‘Yathra’. He was widely noted for producing M T Vasudevan Nair’s ‘Oru Cheru Punchiri’. John Paul had won many state, national and international awards. He had also served as the founder secretary of MACTA and was active in the activities of the Film Society.