KOZHIKODE: Actor Mohanlal paid his last respects to noted author M T Vasudevan Nair. Mohanlal reached MT's house ‘Sithara’ in Kozhikode Thursday morning at 5 am. Mohanlal recalled that he was fortunate to have experienced MT's love to the fullest.

'M T Vasudevan Nair is one doyen who gave me the best characters. Although we have not met many times, we had a good relationship. He had come to Mumbai to watch my plays. We had an emotional intimacy. We have lost the best writer India has seen. I had inquired about his health,' the actor clarified.

MT passed away at 10 pm on Wednesday. He had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kozhikode for quite some time. People can pay homage to the doyen till 4 pm today and the body will be cremated at the Mavoor Road crematorium in Kozhikode at 5 pm. A two-day mourning has been declared in the state as a mark of respect for MT. All government programmes scheduled for today and tomorrow have been cancelled. The cabinet meet has also been cancelled. Many prominent figures from the political, literary and cultural fields expressed their condolences to the beloved MT.

Born on July 15, 1933 at Kudallur in Palakkad. MT, who has made outstanding contributions to Malayalam literature and the world of cinema, won the country's highest literary award, Jnanpith, in 1995. In 2005, the country honored him with the Padma Bhushan. The ever-favorite novels of Malayalees such as Manju, Naalukettu, Asuravithu, Kaalam, Randamoozham, and Arabiponnu, written in collaboration with N P Mohammed, are much discussed. The stories Iruttininte Athmavu, Ninte Ormakku, Kuttyedathi, Olavum Theeravum, Sherlock, Vanaprastham, Vedanayude Pookkal, and Raktham Puranda Mantharikal were also widely read and discussed. He later turned many of these stories into screenplays.

He also won the National Film Award for the films he directed, such as Nirmalyam and Oru Cherupunchiri. Nirmalyam, released in 1973, was his first directorial effort. Nirmalyam is a film adaptation of his story 'Pallivalum Kalchilambum'. The film won the National and State Awards for Best Film that year. P J Antony received the Bharat Award for his performance as the protagonist in the film. He directed the films Mohiniyattam, Bandhanam, Devalokam, Varikuzhi, Manju, Kadavu and Oru Cherupunchiri.