R Mahesh, the man who had created many beautiful film posters, passed away on Thursday, following a heart attack. He was 37 years old. Oldmonks, where he worked as a creative designer, put up a post informing followers that the cremation took place on Friday at 1 pm at Shanthikavadam, Thiruvananthapuram.
"R. Mahesh our lead designer, most cheerful colleague and dearest friend passed away yesterday. Somebody who was loved for more than his great work, Mahesh will live on as part of our numerous warm memories. Nothing will fill the void he has left. Let's wish him happiness, wherever he is now. Maheshe nee puliyayirunneda !" the post said.
Mahesh had designed the much-discussed first look poster of Lijo Jose Pellissery's Jallikkattu. He made it in clay, the picture of a bull and several people covered in mud. The title too is written in clay.
In an interview to The Cue, Oldmonks co-founder Sreejith N said, "Mahesh brought clay (for the illustration of Jallikkattu poster) from the sculpture department of the College of Fine Arts in Tripunithura. He did it almost entirely manually. Ninety five percent of the illustration was hand work. Lijo was very excited to see it. When Lijo later told us that he could shoot it like we illustrated, Mahesh said it was the greatest compliment of his life. He was a passionate artist who was ready to do any amount of rework to make his work perfect. He was a person who designed more with his bare hands than on a computer.”
He had also designed the posters of upcoming films like Rajeev Ravi's Thuramukham, Bhadran's Joothan starring Soubin, Rima and Joju, Tovino Thomas starrer Pallichattambi, Nivin Pauly starrer Padavettu, and Papam Cheyathavar directed by Shambu Purushothaman.
Mahesh graduated from the Fine Arts College in Thiruvananthapuram with a degree in painting. He had been working with Oldmonks for three years.