Departures of note

R. Sarath was an Indian film director and screenwriter who worked primarily in the Malayalam film industry. He began his career making documentaries, and his research on rare Raja Ravi Varma mural paintings during the filming of The Painted Epics earned him international recognition and a junior fellowship from the Government of India's Department of Culture in 1996.

He made his feature directorial debut with Sayahnam (2000), a drama about environmental and anti-nuclear issues that won seven Kerala State Film Awards and two National Film Awards, including the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director. His subsequent features included Sthithi, Seelabathi, Parudeesa (Paradise), and the Indo-Chinese co-production The Desire: A Journey of a Woman, which won an award at the 2011 Geneva International Film Festival.

Beyond filmmaking, Sarath held a postgraduate degree in English Literature and Journalism and served as Deputy of Visual Communication at the Information and Public Relations Department of the Government of Kerala. He also worked as festival director of IUKFF 2007 in London. He died in 2026 at the age of 65.