After being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alphonse Puthren put out an Instagram post announcing his retirement from cinemaOn October 30, director Alphonse Puthren, who earned wide recognition with his classic 2015 Malayalam film ‘Premam’, made a personal post on Instagram, but soon deleted it. However, those who read the post were moved by the director's revelation and began to send messages of support.In the post, Alphonse wrote, “I’m stopping my Cinema Theater Career. I have Autism Spectrum Disorder which I found out yesterday on my own. I don’t want to be a burden to anyone else. I will continue doing songs and videos and short films and maximum an OTT. I don’t want to quit Cinema, but I have no other option. I don’t want to make promises that I can’t keep. When health is weak and unpredictable life brings a twist like an interval Punch. (sic)”Furthermore, ‘Premam’ director apologised to everyone for not being healthy and said, “I don't know what the reason is. I had this issue from my childhood, this is what I think after understanding Autism. That's why the delay in films I guess. But I wouldn't stop entertaining you all.” After ‘Premam’ in 2015 and his independent short film in the Tamil anthology ‘Aviyal’ in 2016, Alphonse returned as a director with the Malayalam comedy drama ‘Gold’ in 2022, which starred Prithviraj Sukumaran and Nayanthara in the lead roles.Many netizens expressed their concerns over Alphonse's health condition and urged him to get professional help and hoped that he would bounce back to continue making films. Last year before the release of ‘Gold’, when Alphonse's picture surfaced online, fans and netizens were shocked to see his lean figure and speculated that his absence might be due to any ill health and wondered if he was alright.For those unaware, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental and neurological disorder that affects how people learn, behave, communicate and interact with others. The term ‘Spectrum’ in ASD refers to the wide range of symptoms and severity.