Veteran Tamil film director, producer and screenwriter Bharathiraja passed away on Wednesday due to age-related ailments. Family sources gave this information. Actor-director Bharathiraja, considered a pioneer in story selection and its unique presentation, died at his residence in Chennai. He was 84 years old. He was mainly known for stories with rural background. Multiple National Award winner Bharathiraja rose to fame with his directorial debut 16 Vayathinile in 1977.
In this film, actors Kamal Haasan and Sridevi were in lead roles while superstar Rajinikanth played the role of villain. This film ruled the box office for a long time and is still considered one of the best Tamil films. He was fondly called “Iyakkunar Imayam”, which simply means “the top man in the director world”. A unique feature of Bharathiraja was that he used to give opportunity to actresses starting with the letter ‘R’ in his films, such as Radha. He was honored with the Padmashree award.
He had stayed away from direction for the last several years but entered the world of acting and worked with Dhanush in his blockbuster film Tiruchithrambalam. His actor son Manoj predeceased him.