The past one and a half years since early 2020 has been filled with grief mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic which has claimed millions of lives everywhere. As the world continues to battle COVID-19, people from all walks of life have suffered huge personal losses either due to the pandemic or other health reasons. Tamil cinema too has witnessed several notable names breathing their last, especially during this period, with yet another tragedy being reported on Thursday. Popular Tamil film Public Relations Officer (PRO) Diamond Babu's mother and legendary film historian and photographer Film News Anandan's wife, Mrs. Sivakami Anandan, passed away earlier today at the age of 86.
Deep condolences !! Cinema PRO @idiamondbabu !’s mother Mrs.sivakami Anandan 86 (Film news Anandan’s wife ) passes away today after noon. May her soul rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/tkaXUIz7HW
— Johnson PRO (@johnsoncinepro) May 27, 2021
The news of Diamond Babu's mother Sivakami Anandan's passing away comes days after another leading Tamil cinema PRO Riaz K Ahmed's mother too breathed her last. Taking to his Instagram page, PRO Riaz offered his condolences and posted a picture of Diamond Babu with his mother captioning it, "Late Kollywood Encyclopaedia #FilmNewsAnandan's Wife & mother of Diamond Babu Mrs.Sivakami (age86) passes away today after noon. May her soul rest in peace. Last Thursday I lost my mother & today my friend lost his. Last July my other friend Singaravalu's mother passed away."
Diamond Babu, who has worked as a PRO for more than 600 films and also as a media consultant primarily in Tamil cinema, became a part of the South Indian film fraternity in the mid-1980s. His father, Film News Anandan, in 1986, had been canvassing for funds after noted producer Aabhavanan was looking to convert a five minute documentary into a commercial film, which eventually led to Diamond Babu becoming a PRO. Having started off his career as a PRO in 1986 in the Vijayakanth starrer Oomai Vizhigal, Diamond Babu soon went on to become a part of several memorable Tamil films like Prabhu's My Dear Marthandan, Captain Prabhakaran, 'Superstar' Rajinikanth's Mannan, Kamal Haasan's Kalaignan, the Ajith Kumar-Mammootty starrer Kandukondain Kandukondain, Suriya's Kaakha Kaakha and 'Thalapathy' Vijay's Sachein. Some of the recent blockbusters he has worked as a PRO also include Thuppakki, Theri, Kabali, Baahubali and 2.0. He is currently associated as a media consultant to leading film production banners like Sivaji Productions, Raaj Kamal Films International, V Creations and Lyca Productions to name a notale few.
This latest tragedy for Diamond Babu is a huge personal loss and we here at Galatta extend our heartfelt condolences to him and the bereaved family.