Nishad Yusuf, innovative editor who was noticed by big names in Tamil, Malayalam industry

The untimely death of ‘Thallumaala’ editor Nishad Yusuf at the peak of his career has dealt a major blow to the Malayalam and Tamil film industry. The Alappuzha native died of suicide in Kochi on Wednesday. His latest work was the Suriya starrer ‘Kanguva’ which was expected to hit the theaters on November 14.
He was also part of the Mammootty starrer ‘Bazooka’ and was expected to edit the Malayalam film ‘Alappuzha Gymkhana’. After starting his career as an animator, he switched to editing and started with series. He always showed a willingness to experiment and innovate, and directors who shared his sensibility could not think of another editor.
‘Udal’ director Ratheesh Reghunandan said Nishad joined Mollywood as there were very few films where he could explore his potential as an actor. “His vision as an editor was very different. When he came to the industry, there were a lot of films that had the vision that he carried. However, this changed with films like ‘Unda’, ‘Operation Java’ and ‘Thallumaala.’ In fact, ‘Thallumaala’ gave him a lot of attention outside Kerala,” said Ratheesh, who was Nishad’s close friend. Nishad had also worked in ‘Udal’ as a film editor. “Nishad would never commit to doing many films. He would only take work that attracted him. Directors were always happy with his work because he would take it to another level,” added Ratheesh.

‘Petta Rap’ director SJ Sinu, who had worked with him in the Prabhu Deva starrer, remembered Nishad as someone who was completely committed to his work. “Another editor was originally involved with ‘Petta Rap’ but it didn’t work out. This is where I reached out to Nishad. He is not one to commit to work easily, but agreed when he saw the footage of our film. ‘Petta Rap’ had a similar vibe to Thallumaala and he saw potential in the film,” said Sinu.

The director claimed that Nishad’s name in the film was one of the highlights for Prabhu Deva when he joined the film. “Prabhu Deva is devastated by the news of Nishad’s death as he had planned to involve Nishad in his upcoming directorial venture. In fact, his death has shocked us all. He was at the peak of his career with a great future ahead of him. He was not a dreamer but was very ambitious. Many filmmakers in Tamil Nadu had also taken note of him,” said Sinu.

Though Onmanorama tried to contact ‘Thallumaala’ and ‘Unda’ director Khalid Rahman, he was not available for comments.