Screenwriter and actor Raghunath Paleri took to Facebook to share his experience of working with filmmaker Akhil Sathyan, son of veteran Malayalam director Sathyan Anthikad. In a touching post, he called it a divine blessing to be able to “grow again with the children of those we grew up with”.

Paleri also reminisced about a rainy day years ago when Sathyan Anthikad approached him on the sets of Piravi—directed by the late Shaji N Karun—to ask him to write the script for Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu. He fondly recalled that moment, alongside memories of Shaji N Karun, who he described as a man whose heart was full of cinematic rain.

Raghunath Paleri writes:

“It was on a rainy afternoon that Sri Sathyan Anthikad came looking for me at the shooting location of Piravi in Kanhangad. The film was being directed by Sri Shaji Karun, who is no longer with us. Shaji’s mind was raining with films. He poured it out at his best, and like a rain that lingers quietly in the soul, he too left this world.
 

Sathyan, who had travelled all the way from Thrissur, arrived soaked in the rain. It was Shaji who pointed me out, standing near the camera. Sathyan came right over, still drenched, without even bothering to dry himself, and asked me if I could write Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu. I agreed on one condition—that Srinivasan would play Thattan. Sathyan agreed. That was our first film together.

Sathyan transformed Thattan into cinematic gold as effortlessly as roasting a papad. That golden egg he laid with Thattan still glows like sunlight in my mind.

Over the years, Sathyan's world became part of mine. And in time, his sons—Akhil and Anoop—grew up amidst stories, scripts and the sounds of cinema. They became filmmakers in their own right.

And now, here I am again, on another rainy day, playing a character in Akhil’s latest film. I stand before him, soaking and dry all at once, as he patiently explains every little detail of the scene he’s written.

To grow once more, this time alongside the children of those I grew up with—what greater blessing could there be? It truly feels like a gift from a higher power. As I bow in gratitude to that unseen force, my mind becomes a halo of light.

Thank you Sathyan, who once came seeking a golden egg. I dedicate this day to Shaji.”