Kochi: Renowned Malayalam scriptwriter John Paul (71) passed away on Saturday at a private hospital in Kochi. He was undergoing treatment for the last two months. His health deteriorated on Friday despite showing signs of improvement. He breathed his last around 1 pm.

The body will be laid for public homage at Ernakulam town hall and Chavara Cultural Centre on Sunday morning. The funeral will be held at Elamkulam Church on Sunday evening.

He had penned more than 100 movies. His noted works are Yathra, Ormakkayi, Sandhya Mayangum Neram, Kattathe Kilikkoodu, Kathodu Kathoram and Utsavapittennu. His first movie was Chamaram, in association with director Bharathan. He was famous for his narration of the inside stories of the Malayalam film industry in an interesting way.

He was awarded the Kerala film critics association award, Nana Gallop poll award for the best screenplay writer and the State award for the best film book MT Oru Anuyathra. He was the producer of the award winning classic movie 'Oru Cherupunchiri', directed by MT Vasudevan Nair..

He is the founder general secretary for Malayalam Cine Technicians Association (MACTA). He also breifly appeared in movies like c/o Sairabanu and Gangster. He is survived by his wife Aisha Elizebath and daughter Jisha Jibi.