Malayalam lyricist Poovachal Khader passes away

Veteran poet and lyricist Poovachal Khader passed away. He was 73. Khader was admitted to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College hospital on Thursday (June 17). According to the reports, he was under treatment for COVID-related complications. Khader was on ventilator support after diagnosing pneumonia and he passed away in the wee hours on Tuesday.
Poovachal Khader aka Muhammad Abdul Khader was born on a Christmas day in 1948, in Poovachal, in Thiruvananthapuram.Khader stepped into the entertainment industry in the early 1970s. He debuted as a lyricist with the 1973 film ‘Kavitha’ directed by Vijaya Nirmala. In his career spanning over five decades, Poovachal Khader has worked in over 300 films and has penned over 1000 songs.
One of the most sought after lyricists in the 1970s and 80s, Khader has penned some evergreen songs in Malayalam including Natha nee varum kalocha (Chamaram), Mouname nirayum mouname (Thakara), Etho janma kalpanayil (Palangal), Ithile ekanay (Ottappettavar), Rithumathiyay thelimanam (Mazhanilavu), Anuragini ithayen (Oru Kudakeezhil), Sindoora sandykk maanam (Choola), Pandora Kattiloransimham (Sandarbham), Mandaracheppundo (Dasharatham), Poomaname (Nirakkoottu), Ponveene (Thalavattam), Ente janman neeyeduthu (Aattakkalasam).
Poovachal Khader has worked with many veteran composers including Peter Reuben, AT Ummer, Shyam, KV Mahadevan, G Devarajan, K Raghavan, MK Arjunan, Raveendran, Johnson, MG Radhakrishnan Gangai Amaran, Raghu Kumar, Jerry Amaldev, Ilayaraja, and Shankar Ganesh among others. And ace singers like KJ Yesudas, P Jayachandran, Vani Jairam, S Janaki, KS Chithra, P Susheela, P Madhuri, Unni Menon, and Lathika has lent voice to his lyrics.
The ace lyricists’ final rites will be held at Poovachal Juma Masjid today. Poovachal Khader is survived by wife Amina, and children Thushara and Prasoona.
People from the film fraternity including filmmaker B Unnikrishnan, musician MG Sreekumar has paid tributes to the late lyricist.