Varisu and Sita Ramam art director Subil Babu passes away at 50; Dulquer Salmaan, Prithviraj and more pay their tributes

Sunil Babu has worked in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, and Telegu both as an art director and production designer.

He passed away in Kerala on January 5th due to a cardiac arrest in a hospital in Ernakulam. His last movie was the upcoming Thalapathy Vijay Varisu .

In Bollywood he has worked on major movies like Aamir Khan's 2008 Ghajini, Akshay Kumar Special 26 and Sing is King, and Hrithik Roshan's Lakshya.

 He made his debut in Malayalam as an assistant to production designer Sabu Cyril. He won his first Kerala State Film Award for the 2005 Prithiviraj movie Ananthabhadram.

Many celebrities including Dulquer Salmaan , Anjali Menon, Santhosh Sivan, Prithviraj, Neeraj Pandey, and Thaman S paid their tributes to Sunil Babu.

Dulquer Salmaan has worked with Sunil Babu the most in movies like Bangalore Days and the recent Sita Ramam writing a heartfelt note.

You have left a void Sunil Sir.... You have been a Brother and a soulmate... You passed away in silence, the way You always worked...You breathed life into every film you designed... Will miss You for this life Sunil Sir... Om Shanti.. 🙏#Ripsunilbabu pic.twitter.com/DpoaPPAPnj

— Vamshi Paidipally (@directorvamshi) January 6, 2023

Heart broken 💔 Listening to This of Our
Art Director #Sunilbabu Sir

Such a lovely soul & Human
Put is heart To #Varisu film 🥹
felt so beautiful and warm every time I visited the house 🏡 Sets

Our Team #Varisu Will miss U sir 💔

May your Soul rest in peace https://t.co/MS0vysI1eQ

— thaman S (@MusicThaman) January 6, 2023

RIP SUNIL BABU
Loss of an exceptional technician, Production Designer, colleague, partner-in-crimes and friend.
(SPECIAL 26, M. S. DHONI, UNTITLED PROD)

Too many memories over the years and yet words fail today.
Your smile will stay around us forever dear. 🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/WH8TsbjuH8

— Neeraj Pandey (@neerajpofficial) January 6, 2023

Rest in peace Sunil Etta! So many memories of working with an absolute genius! 💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/J8iX0YzbnL

— Prithviraj Sukumaran (@PrithviOfficial) January 6, 2023

you leave a void in many lives , my dear friend Sunil babu , Production Designer
God Bless Rest in peace pic.twitter.com/Z9o2PXDcpb

— SantoshSivanASC. (@santoshsivan) January 5, 2023

This is really heartbreaking and hard to digest! Can't believe he's no longer with us now. This shows, again, how life can be unfair and unpredictable. Rest in peace, #SunilBabu sir. The world will miss you. pic.twitter.com/lEeZg1Ps0l

— Hanu Raghavapudi (@hanurpudi) January 6, 2023

In 2022, he worked on four projects: the Dulquer Salmaan starrer Sita Ramam, The Mammootty starrer Bheesshma Parvam, and the rom-com Operation Romeo and Dahini - The Witch.

Born in 1973, in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, Sunil Babu started working in the industry after graduating from Mysore Arts College. He is survived by his wife Prema and his daughter Arya Saraswathi.