Babu, of Malayalam director duo Anil-Babu, no more

Along with Anil, he directed several Malayalam hits such as ‘Kudumba Vishesham’ and ‘Welcome to Kodaikanal’

Director Babu Narayanan

Director Babu Narayanan, who was part of the Anil-Babu duo that made several box office hits, died at the age of 59 at Thrissur on Saturday. He had been ailing for a while.

Before pairing up, they had made films separately but hadn't tasted much success. Together though, they directed several successful films in the 1990s.

Movies like Sthreedhanam , Kudumba Vishesham , Welcome to Kodaikanal , Aramanaveedum Anjoorekkarum and Pattabhishekam established themselves as a force to reckon with in the mainstream cinema. The duo split up in 2004 after Parayam .

They had come together in 1992, a year in which they made three films –

Ponnaramthottathe Rajavu ,

Manthrikacheppu and

Welcome To Kodiakanal. Before that, Babu, on his own, had directed

Anagha and

Ponnaranjanam .

His debut feature Anagha had Parvathy playing the lead. The highlight of the film was its music, composed by Kozhikode Yesudas. Its two songs, Paaduvanaayi vannu njaan... and Angakale kizhakkan dikkil... , both rendered by K.J. Yesudas, had become popular.

The film, though, didn't make a mark. His fortune, however, changed for the better after starting to work with Anil.

Many of their films, like Ponnaramthottathe Rajavu , which saw Jagadeesh turning into a solo hero from comedian, Sthreedhanam and Kudumba Vishesham were lapped up by the family audiences. Those films told interesting stories that appealed to the mainstream audience in an engaging way.

Their last film together was Parayam , in 2004. It would take nearly a decade before Babu directed another film, To Noora with Love . The Mamta Mohandas-starrer would prove his last.

Last year his daughter Sravana made his debut as a heroine in Lal Jose's Thattupurathu Achuthan.