The passing of Sreenivasan has left Malayalam cinema grappling with a rare kind of silence. For over four decades, Sreenivasan shaped how Malayalis saw themselves on screen, using humour, empathy, and sharp observation to turn everyday life into enduring cinema. Among the many tributes that followed his death, the note shared by Mohanlal stood out for its intimacy and emotional clarity.
“Srini has departed without saying goodbye,” Mohanlal wrote, setting the tone for a farewell that felt deeply personal. He admitted that he did not know how to explain the bond he shared with Sreenivasan in words, noting that their relationship went far beyond the definition of people who merely worked together in cinema. It was a connection shaped by years of shared experiences, creative disagreements, reconciliation, and mutual trust. In that admission lay a larger truth. Sreenivasan was never just a collaborator to those he worked with. He was family.
Mohanlal’s note also acknowledged that this bond was not limited to him alone. “In the same way, every Malayali shared a deep emotional connection with Srini,” he wrote. It is a sentiment that resonates widely. Sreenivasan’s characters did not exist in isolation. They lived within homes, workplaces, and neighbourhoods that felt instantly familiar. Audiences recognised themselves in his worlds because he wrote from within society, not above it.
A writer who held up a mirror
Reflecting on Sreenivasan’s body of work, Mohanlal noted how Malayalis saw their own faces in the characters he created. “They saw their own pains and joys, their absences and their fulfilments reflected on screen through him,” he wrote. Few writers captured emotional contradictions with such clarity. Sreenivasan understood how closely happiness and disappointment coexisted in middle class life, and he brought that truth to the screen with compassion and humour.
“Who else could capture the dreams and broken dreams of the middle class the way Srini did?” Mohanlal asked, pointing to the enduring relevance of his writing. The longevity of the characters they created together, he observed, existed “solely because of the magic in Srini’s writing.” That magic lay not in spectacle, but in observation. His stories drew power from familiarity, from moments audiences had lived through themselves.
Films such as Nadodikkattu, Varavelppu, and Udayananu Tharam continue to remain culturally alive because they speak to human experience rather than cinematic excess. They entertain, but they also linger.
Dasan and Vijayan and a friendship that endured
Among Sreenivasan’s many creations, Dasan and Vijayan remain inseparable from his legacy. Mohanlal wrote that these characters became one of our own for every Malayali because of Sreenivasan’s “blessed gift for writing.” They were not heroes in the conventional sense, but men shaped by ambition, vulnerability, failure, and hope. Their ordinariness was their strength.
Mohanlal described Sreenivasan’s creations as reflections of society itself, calling him “a beloved soul who turned pain into laughter.” His humour never denied hardship. Instead, it softened it, allowing audiences to confront reality without despair. That ability made his work timeless and deeply loved.
Drawing a poignant parallel between art and life, Mohanlal reflected on their own journey together. “On screen and in life, like Dasan and Vijayan, we laughed together, enjoyed ourselves, fell out, made up, and journeyed on together through time.” It was a friendship that evolved naturally, marked by honesty and shared history.
Sreenivasan’s contributions extended beyond writing and acting. As a filmmaker, he earned critical acclaim, including a National Film Award for his directorial debut, Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala, along with multiple Kerala State Film Awards. Even as health issues kept him away from active cinema in recent years, his influence never faded.
Mohanlal ended his note with a simple prayer. “I pray for eternal peace for dear Srini’s soul.” In doing so, he gave a voice to a collective grief. Sreenivasan was more than a prolific artist. He was a mirror, a conscience, and a companion to generations who saw their own lives reflected in his stories.
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