Malayalam director Rajesh Pillai dead

Filmmaker Rajesh Pillai breathed his last here at a private hospital on Saturday, a reliable source close to him said. He was 41.

"He passed away around 11.40 a.m. at PVS Hospital," a reliable source close to the director told IANS.

He was hospitalised several times in the last few months.

"He was on life support since yesterday. He had been suffering from liver cirrhosis, and was due for a liver transplant, which he had postponed to complete his latest film 'Vettah', which released in cinemas on Friday," the source added.

During the final sound mixing for "Vettah", he had also contracted pneumonia and that worsened his health condition.

Rajesh had directed five films in his career. His films "Mili" and "Traffic", which was later remade into Tamil and Hindi, were critically acclaimed.