Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 9 (IANS) Popular writer, actor and director of Malayalam films Venu Nagavally died of liver ailments at a hospital here. He was 61 and is survived by his wife and son.

Nagavally, son of popular writer and commentator Nagavally R.S. Kurup, passed away late Wednesday.

The funeral will take place Thursday evening here.

It was while working at All India Radio in 1978 that Nagavally decided to become an actor. His first acting project was "Ulkadal".

Though he acted in 35 films, he never rose to stardom. But as a writer and director, Nagavally's stock rose hugely.

It was his directorial projects like "Sughamodevi", "Sarvakalashala", "Hey Auto" and "Lal Salam" that catapulted Mohanlal to the status of a superstar, in the late '80s.

Recalling his association with Nagavally, thespian Thilakan said that he was fortunate to know him.

"He was a simple person and was a good human being. He never had any airs about him. A nice person from the industry has left us," said Thilakan.

Incidentally, Nagavally is the fourth from the Malayalam industry to die of liver ailment in the past one year.

Last year, Malayalam films lost veteran director Lohithadas, and popular actors Murali and Rajan P. Dev.