Renowned director P Bharathiraja passed away. He passed away in Chennai due to age-related ailments. His health had been deteriorating for the past few days. Bharathiraja’s health had been deteriorating following the untimely demise of his son Manoj.
Bharathiraja is described as ‘Eyakunar Imayam’ or the Himalayas of directing. Bharathiraja was a revolutionary director who transplanted the Tamil film world from studio sets to the green villages. Apart from directing, Bharathiraja excelled as a screenwriter, producer and actor.
Bharathiraja is a director who redefined rural stories and introduced many new talents to cinema. He is considered one of the most influential filmmakers in Tamil cinema.
His famous films include 16 Vayathinile, Kizhakke Pokumail, Sigappu Rojakal, Nizhalgal, Alaikal Oivathillai, Thanthi Maryadai, and Kizhakku Cheemayile. His last film, ‘Meendum Oru Maryadai’, was released in 2020. Recently, Bharathiraja played the role of an old-time stunt master in the Mohanlal-starrer ‘Kalagadu’.
He was born in the city of Theni Alli to Periyamaya Thevar and Meenakshi Ammal. His real name was Chinnaswamy.
Apart from Tamil, he has directed films in Telugu and Hindi. Bharathiraja has been on the silver screen as an actor since 1978. His last role was in Tarun Murthy’s Malayalam film Jagdalada. Bharathiraja also sang the song Kaad Potta Kaad with Malaysia Vasudevan in Karuthamma, composed by A. R. Rahman.
Bharathiraja has won six National Awards and numerous State Awards. He was honored with the Padma Shri in 2004. He also served as the jury chairman of the Kerala State Film Awards in 2013.
