Dr. Nelliat Curundadath Shyamalan, 88, cardiologist and father of internationally acclaimed filmmaker Manoj Night Shyamalan, died in the US on November 4. The funeral will be held on Friday (November 7) in the US, family members said.
A native of Mahe with roots in Kannur, Dr. Shyamalan was known for his long medical career in Philadelphia and personal research on the origins of the Thiyya community of Malabar. Drawing from DNA studies, he had advanced a theory that the community traced its ancestry to Indo-Aryan groups that migrated from Central Asia, particularly the region of present day Kyrgyzstan, through Pakistan and Rajasthan to north Malabar, Coorg, and the Nilgiris.
He had also been associated with his son’s early filmmaking journey, serving as a cameo producer in Praying with Anger (1992), the latter’s first film.
Dr. Shyamalan is survived by wife Dr. Jaya Lakshmi, daughter Veena Loftus (US), and siblings Venugopal (Chennai) and Daya Hayaram (Kozhikode).