Director Saji Paravoor aka Sanjeev NR, who is known for the Malayalam movie "Janakan" passed away in the wee hours Tuesday at KIMS hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. He was admitted to hospital following a stroke. He was 48

"Janakan," the debut directorial venture of Saji starring Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi was one of the notable movies in Malayalam in 2010. He had assisted Lenin Rajendran and was working with Rosshan Andrews in the upcoming Malayalam movie "School Bus," which has Kunchacko Boban, Jayasurya and Aparna Gopinath in the lead.

"Let us pay homage to my beloved friend and director of d movie Janakan, Sri. Saji Paravoor who has passed away today....more than a loss to film industry it's d loss of a genuine soul for those around him," writes a social media user Cv Latheesh on his Facebook page.

He is survived by his wife Sreedevi and son Ananthan.

Meanwhile, versatile actor Kalabhavan Mani's funeral was conducted Monday at his residence in Chalakudy. The industry has been losing many talented artistes within two months making 2016 as the dreadful year for Keralites. Filmmakers Rajesh Pillai, Mohanroop, writer Akbar Kakkattil, Music director Rajamani, cinematographer Anandakuttan, lyricist ONV Kurup, music composer Shan Johnson, actors Kollam GK Pillai, Sudhakaran, Kalpana and scriptwriter VR Gopalakrishnan passed away in 2016.

Here are some celebrity condolence messages:

Kunchacko Boban

Sad to see that so many good souls from the film fraternity are saying good bye forever...
Paying my homage to Director Saji Paravoor  Came to know him personally during the shoot of "School Bus"....such a humble human being,i pray that his family stays strong to overcome this grief. And may God be with them in their life ahead ! 

Rajith Menon

Another loss for malayalam industry....saji paravoor or by screen name known as sanjeev n r,director of janakan film passed away yest...i can never forget u sajietta as tht film n shoot will always be memorable for me...not choosing the usual commercial way,u did an emotional brain bank story using 2 superstars Mohanlal and Sureshgopi and tht itself made ur mark in the industry....i was also blessed to act with these legends.. the way u were calm,quiet and handling the sets showed how exp u were and how gud u r at this...u will be missed terribly.....may ur soul rip....