Sathyan Anthikad remembers Sreenivasan; the writer who made Mammootty cry

Sathyan Anthikad and Sreenivasan were not just a director and a writer. They were friends. They were teachers to each other. They were people who trusted each other without fear. When Sathyan Anthikad talks about Sreenivasan now, it is not with big words. It is with simple memories. Memories that come from the heart.




After Sreenivasan passed away, Sathyan Anthikad felt a deep emptiness. He shared his thoughts in a long note written for Mathrubhumi Weekly. He titled it “Sreeni, the Lone Star.” Later, he shared the same note on Facebook. In that note, he speaks about their journey together. He speaks about laughter, fear, honesty, and tears.




Many people say Sreenivasan was apolitical. Sathyan Anthikad does not agree with that. He clearly says that such thoughts come from “political blind believers who swallow whatever their leaders say without thinking.” According to him, Sreenivasan always observed society closely. He questioned power. He questioned politics. He questioned cinema itself.

A train journey and a simple truth

One memory Sathyan Anthikad shares is from a train journey. He was traveling from Thrissur to Kozhikode. An elderly woman sat near him. She had grey hair. She was a retired school principal. She asked him a simple question. “Who is the best screenwriter in Malayalam?”



Sathyan Anthikad first mentioned M.T. He also spoke about Padmarajan and Lohithadas. The woman smiled and said, “That may be right. But the writer who understood the Malayali mind the most is Sreenivasan. Because he is seen as a comic actor, many fail to notice his brilliance as a writer.”


She spoke about characters from 'Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala', 'Vadakkunokkiyantram', 'Sandesham', and 'Varavelppu'. She spoke about Dasan and Vijayan from 'Nadodikkattu'. She spoke about the simple dialogues. Dialogues that never felt forced. Sathyan Anthikad says he was not surprised. He knew she was right. That is why he always tried to keep Sreenivasan close.


He says Sreenivasan never wrote a single line without honesty. If he felt he could not do justice to a script, he would walk away. Sathyan Anthikad says he has personally experienced this side of him.

When Sreeni walked away from a script

One strong example is the film 'Kudumbapuranam'. Sreenivasan was the first writer for the film. It was to be adapted from the Tamil film 'Samsaram Adhu Minsaram'. Sreenivasan had not watched the Tamil film. He liked the idea and joined Sathyan Anthikad for discussions.


They stayed at a hotel in Kozhikode. Everything looked fine. Sathyan Anthikad even fixed shoot dates and spoke to actors. But the script did not grow. It stayed at ten or fifteen scenes.


Finally, they decided to watch the Tamil film. After watching it, Sreenivasan said nothing that night. The next morning, Sathyan Anthikad saw him packing his bag. Before leaving, Sreenivasan said, “I am escaping from this story. If you want to survive, you should escape too. You cannot make a film out of this.” Then he left.


Later, Lohithadas wrote the script. It worked beautifully. When Sreenivasan came to act in the film, he laughed and said, “When Lohi wrote it, it became good. I couldn’t do it. If I had stayed back to argue, you would have forced me to continue. That is why I committed that deed that day.”


For Sreenivasan, writing was never just a job. He wrote from life. From pain. From truth.

Politics, pain, and pure emotion

Sathyan Anthikad says Sreenivasan had sharp social observation. He followed world politics closely. That depth can be seen in Sandesham. Dialogues like “Don’t say a word about Poland” were written with full understanding.


Even after thirty-four years, 'Sandesham' still feels fresh. Sreenivasan questioned politics, but he also questioned cinema. Udayananu Tharam is proof of that.

When Mammootty cried

One of the most emotional moments Sathyan Anthikad recalls is from 'Katha Parayumbol'. At the end of the film, Mammootty’s character speaks about his old friend Barber Balan. Sathyan Anthikad says very few people can watch that scene without tears.


Sreenivasan told him it took fifteen days to write that speech. He rewrote it many times. He changed sentences again and again. Then he said, “When I read the final version again, my own eyes filled up. I felt this would work. I gave the scene to Mammootty to read and stood aside watching him. After reading it, I saw Mammootty wipe his eyes.”


Sathyan Anthikad says every good scene is born because someone melts their heart for it.


He also remembers a time when Sreenivasan read a letter from a young man in Delhi. The letter spoke about deep pain. As Sreenivasan read it, he broke down and cried loudly. Sathyan Anthikad says he cried too.


“I have heard that the ability to cry is a blessing. Tears flow only from a pure heart,” he writes. He says Sreenivasan had such a pure heart. That is why he could make people laugh, think, and cry.


Sreenivasan is no more. Sathyan Anthikad accepts that truth. But he also says he is still unable to fully believe it.Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”