Malayalam actor loses battle to cancer

Malayalam film actor Jishnu Raghavan (35) died at a private hospital in Kochi on Friday after a battle with cancer.

Ever since he was diagnosed with cancer, Jishnu, son of veteran actor Raghavan, had been regular on social media, posting updates on his treatment and positive messages expressing hope for a comeback, to an active life and career in films.

After starting out as a child artist in Kilipattu (1987), directed by his father, Jishnu debuted as a hero along with Siddharth Bharathan in Kamal’s Nammal (2002). He also featured in Siddharth’s directorial debut Nidra (2012). The 2003 film Choonda had him play one of his most prominent characters.

Jishnu also shared screen-space with Mammootty in the investigative thriller Nerariyaan CBI (2005). His last major films were the 2012 releases Ordinary and Ustad Hotel, both blockbusters.

The actor had a successful first phase of treatment but his cancer relapsed in 2015. His Facebook posts about his post-diagnosis life were widely shared.

On March 8, he posted a message in which he also spoke about the positive change nurses brought to the lives of patients. “…they (nurses) do a tough job of treating pain and in ICU things are worse but by smiling and being jovial creates such a good atmosphere that everything just gets better…it’s magic…smile is magic…try it,” he wrote.