Cool Jayanth, the choreographer known for working in Tamil and Malayalam cinema, died on Wednesday morning at his residence in Chennai due to ill health. He was in his 50s.
His last rites took place on Wednesday evening.
Cool Jayanth, who was popular in the 90s, worked with ace choreographers Prabhu Deva and Raju Sundaram and was part of their dance troupes. He subsequently made his debut as a choreographer with the 1996 film Kadhal Desam, directed by Kathir. He choreographed the popular songs, Mustafa Mustafa and Kaloori Salai, composed by AR Rahman for the film.
KT Kunjumon, who produced Kadhal Desam, paid his respects on social media and recollected Jayanth’s hard work for Kaloori Salai.
With over 500 films to his credit, Cool Jayanth worked with popular actors such as Ajith Kumar and Vijay in the 90s.
Casting director Manoj Krishna, who had worked with the choreographer on ad films and events, condoled his death on social media. Speaking to Silverscreen India, he said, “We shared a comfort zone and hence would often collaborate to find artists for events. He was down-to-earth person. I last worked with him about one-and-half months back and we were in touch even as recently as 15 days ago. He was looking forward to celebrating his 25th year in the industry.”
Manoj also mentioned that Jayanth had done a lot of Malayalam films and was leading dance master in that industry.
He revealed that the late choreographer was aspiring to direct a film, and he had introduced Jayanth to a producer for the same.
Manoj added that they last worked on a song to celebrate 100 days of MK Stalin’s tenure as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, featuring actors Sonia Aggarwal, Ambika, and others.
Aggarwal also tweeted her condolences. “Shocked beyond words #RIPCoolJayanth master…my heartfelt condolences to the family,” she wrote.
Choreographer-director Bobby Antony, speaking to Silverscreen India, said that Jayanth’s works in the Vijay-starrers Kushi (2001) and Priyamaanavale (2000) made him one of the sought-after choreographers in the Tamil industry.
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“Cool anna was a very jovial person, humble and lovable. He never scolded anyone. True to his name, he was a very cool person. When I was a dancer, I tried a lot to join his troupe,” Bobby shared.
“His work in Vaali (1999) with Ajith sir, for the song April Maadhathil, is still respected in our dancers’ circle. He was a favourite choreographer for Vijay and Ajith, especially during their early days,” he added.
Cool Jayanth was also a regular collaborator of late filmmaker SP Jananathan‘s, Bobby mentioned. The late choreographer worked on the director’s films, Iyarkai (2003), E (2006), and Laabam (2021).
Jayanth is survived by his wife and two brothers.