Sita Ramam, Varisu production designer Sunil Babu dies of cardiac arrest at 50

Renowned technician, art director and production designer Sunil Babu, who recently worked on Dulquer Salmaan's hit Sita Ramam, is no more. He was 50 and had breathed his last on Thursday in the night. A native of Pathanamthitta, he had worked on many credible films across multiple industries - Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. He had assisted award-winning art director Sabu Cyril before working independently.

A report by Mathrubhumi confirms that the technician was admitted to Amritha Hospital in Ernakulam after a swelling on his leg a few days ago. Born to Kunnamthanam native Thankappan Nair and Saraswathi, Sunil Babu is survived by his wife Prema and daughter Arya Saras. A product of Mysuru Arts College, some of Sunil Babu's works were for popular Malayalam films like Ananthabhadram, Bangalore Days, Kayamkulam Kochunni, Pazhassiraja, Urumi, Chotta Mumbai, Aami, Premam and Notebook.

Besides bagging the Kerala State Film Award for Ananthabhadram, Sunil Babu was associated with the teams of Neeraj Pandey's MS Dhoni, Dulquer's Sita Ramam AR Murugadoss-directorial Gajini, Hrithik Roshan's Lakshya, and Special 26 as well. He had last worked for Vijay's Varisu, the Pongal 2023 release. Expressing their condolences for Sunil's family, Sita Ramam's makers shared a video of him from the sets of the film.

“Deeply saddened to hear that #SunilBabu is no more... In your art, we will meet you again! Heartfelt condolences to his family,” Vyjayanthi Movies wrote on their social media handles.