Noted Malayalam film composer and rock music artist John P Varkey passed away on Monday, August 29. He was 51 years old. John was notably part of the band Jigsaw Puzzle, through which he became one of the most famous rock musicians in Kerala. He later was part of the band Avial. He passed away in his house at Mannuthy near Thrissur.
Apart from being a celebrated independent artist, John has composed music for several films across industries and shows as well. In Malayalam, he composed the soundtrack for the films Kammattippadam, Eada, Unnam, and Olipporu. He was also the composer for the Telugu movie Idi Sangathi and Kannada film Karthik. According to reports, his music in the 2007 Indian drama ‘Frozen’ was awarded the best music award in the Madrid Imagine India Film Festival.
His friends and fans in social media have expressed shock at his untimely death and have been posting tribute messages to the late artist. “RIP bro. will miss you and your music. John P Varkey. thread of four videos i made of John performing live. there are of course many professionally made high quality videos online but these are special to me. (sic),” one of the people associated with him shared on Twitter.
Celebrated composer and violinist Manoj George, expressing shock at John’s sudden demise, wrote on social media: “I don’t want to put this post…Still …. to inform others…my close friend… classmate…. Amazing musician…. Amazing composer… Amazing guitarist.. Amazing personality …. John P Varkey is no more…! We grew up playing together…. From school… college… have been together till now…. Why did you go now John …. This is not the time to go… you had so much to do…! (sic).”
RIP bro. will miss you and your music. John P Varkey. thread of four videos i made of John performing live. there are of course many professionally made high quality videos online but these are special to me. pic.twitter.com/eByiMTtGIP
— kadalōn (@kadaloan1010) August 30, 2022