I used to call Sangeeth Sivan and Santhosh Sivan's father 'Shivmama'. Shivmama was my papa's close friend. I met Sangeeth and Santhosh for the first time at Shivmama's famous studio in Thiruvananthapuram.

I was a member of the cricket team at Model School. Sangeeth was the captain of the Loyola team. I remember we played a match against each other, and our team lost.

Sangeeth was a first-class cricketer, and I adored his game. He also excelled in hockey. There is no doubt that Sangeeth would have been a member of Kerala's Ranji team had he not pursued a career in film. His game was that classy.

The special feature of the Sivan family is their immense visual sense. The world captured through their camera lens is distinct from what we perceive. Sangeeth was also a skilled still photographer. He was the first person to photograph my daughter, Kalyani.

Sangeeth and I grew up pursuing careers in film simultaneously. We resided together at the Woodlands Hotel in Madras, dreaming together. Sangeeth's unique visual style made his films my favourite. When I surfed to Mumbai in the wave of films, Sangeeth was already shining brightly there. He was a favourite director among celebrities, including Ekta Kapoor. I used to go see plays at the Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai. He used to be present there as well. Later, we started going to the theatre together.

However, Sangeeth eventually withdrew from the Mumbai film industry. When enquired, he said, 'Mumbai does not work for me.'

COVID-19 greatly affected Sangeeth. During that time, Sangeeth and I would often converse over the phone. The last time I spoke to Sangeeth was four weeks ago. He had remade the Malayalam film ‘Romancham’ into Hindi. Upon completing the project, he called me and said, 'It's done, Priyan.' Those words, in a different sense, resonate with me deeply now.

Santhosh Sivan had informed me two days ago about Sangeeth's deteriorating health. This afternoon, I received a message from Santhosh saying, 'Sangeeth has passed away without suffering further.' A beautiful shot of friendship and love has vanished forever in my eyes.