Veteran director S P Muthuraman hospitalised in Chennai

He has been hospitalised with suspected Covid-19 and pneumonia

Veteran filmmaker S P Muthuraman was admitted to a private hospital in Chennai on Wednesday (April 7) with suspected Covid-19 and pneumonia. The 86-year-old is 'stable' and 'under observation', as per a release issued by the hospital.

S P Muthuraman, who was born in Tamil Nadu, began his career with the 1972 release Kanimuthu Paappa, which featured Jaishankar in the lead. He subsequently carved a niche for himself in the industry with films such as Anbu Thangai, Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham and Mayangukiral Oru Maadhu. It was, however, the 1976 release Oru Oodhappu Kan Simittugiradhu that proved to be a gamechanger for S P Muthuraman as it helped him bag his first Filmfare Award. The well-received drama featured Kamal Haasan and Sujatha as the lead pair and revolved around the relationship between a young man and his charming neighbour. It was dubbed in Telugu and Malayalam as Maroprema Katha and Anuragam.

The director won his second Filmfare Award when he wielded the microphone for Bhuvana Oru Kelvi Kuri, which featured Sivakumar and Rajinikanth in the lead. Many feel the response to the film encouraged the 'Superstar' to transition to positive roles. S P Muthuraman and Rajini subsequently collaborated for quite a few films, emerging as a viable combination. Their most notable films include Priya, Guru Sishyan, Athisaya Piravi and the action-drama Pandian. The perception is that he played a big role in establishing the 2.0 star as a mass hero.

S P Muthuraman's last movie Thottil Kuzhandhai, starring Ramki, was released in theatres in 1995 and ended up being a commercial failure