Bharathiraja, the visionary filmmaker who transformed the landscape of Tamil cinema by taking it out of the confines of studio sets and into the heart of rural India, has passed away at the age of 84. With his death, Indian cinema loses one of its most influential storytellers — a director whose films forever altered the way villages, ordinary people and everyday emotions were portrayed on screen.

Born Chinnasaamy Periyamaya Thevar in Allinagaram near Theni, Bharathiraja brought to cinema an authenticity that stemmed from lived experience. Before his arrival, villages in Tamil films often existed as stylised backdrops. Bharathiraja changed that with his groundbreaking debut, 16 Vayathinile (1977), a film that introduced audiences to a raw, earthy and emotionally truthful vision of rural life. Starring Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth and Sridevi, it became a landmark in Indian cinema and heralded a new era of realistic filmmaking.

Though often described as the filmmaker who brought the village to the screen, Bharathiraja’s talents extended far beyond rural dramas. He moved effortlessly between genres, directing acclaimed works such as Sigappu Rojakkal, Tik Tik Tik, Mudhal Mariyathai, Alaigal Oivathillai and Oru Kaidhiyin Diary. His films combined emotional depth with social observation, while his visual style, rooted in natural landscapes, became instantly recognisable.

His influence also extended to Hindi cinema. In 1979, he directed Solva Sawan, the Hindi remake of 16 Vayathinile, which marked Sridevi’s debut as a leading lady in Hindi films. He later directed Lovers (1983), adapting his own Tamil classic Alaigal Oivathillai for Hindi audiences. Bharathiraja also remade his psychological thriller Sigappu Rojakkal as the Hindi film Red Rose (1980), introducing North Indian viewers to one of Tamil cinema’s most celebrated thrillers. He also directed Sunny Deol in Saveray Wali Gaadi (1985). Decades later, he returned to Hindi filmmaking with Final Cut of Director (2016, starring Nana Patekar and Arjun Sarja.

Throughout his career, Bharathiraja displayed an extraordinary eye for talent. He helped launch and shape the careers of numerous actors and technicians, while his collaborations with composer Ilaiyaraaja produced some of the most enduring moments in South Indian cinema. Equally significant was his portrayal of women. His female characters were often complex, resilient and emotionally rich, occupying the centre of stories rather than merely supporting them.

Recognition followed naturally. Bharathiraja received six National Film Awards and was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2004 for his contribution to the arts. Yet his greatest achievement lies in the generations of filmmakers he inspired and the cinematic language he helped create. He also won Filmfare Awards for films like Sigappu Rojakkal, Vedham Pudhithu and Karuthamma.

In later years, he reinvented himself as a character actor, delivering memorable performances in films such as Aayutha Ezhuthu, Pandianadu, Thiruchitrambalam and Maharaja. Audiences embraced him once again, this time in front of the camera.

For nearly five decades, Bharathiraja chronicled the dreams, heartbreaks and aspirations of ordinary people with uncommon compassion. He showed that the lives of villagers could possess the grandeur of epic drama and the intimacy of poetry.

Bharathiraja died of age-related complications on June 10, 2026. His passing marks the end of an era, but his legacy will endure in every filmmaker who chooses authenticity over artifice and in every story that finds beauty in the soil from which it springs.

Top Tamil films of Bharathiraja:

Chapal Rani: The Last Queen of Bengal by Sandip Roy chronicles the life of legendary jatra artiste Chapal Bhaduri, who rose to fame playing female characters on stage and became one of Bengal’s most celebrated performers. The book explores his journey through fame, love, loss and changing times, while offering a deeply personal look at a life lived both in the spotlight and on the margins.

But that is where the rub lies, and that is where the similarities end. Sandip Roy’s book, Chapal Rani: The Last Queen of Bengal, deviates a lot from the film. The movie was a somewhat whitewashed truth of the female impersonator and more about Rituparno Ghosh, the director, and his attempt to prove his gender alliances. Roy’s book is a sensitive exploration of a young boy, Chapal Bhaduri, son of a famous stage actor and nephew of the illustrious Sisir Kumar Bhaduri, who at the age of 16 took to the jatra like waves to the seashore. He started with bit female roles as Morjina and went on to rule the world of jatra as a queen.

Chapal, in between his lifelong servility and devotion to his lover “X”, ruled the stage with his hauteur and perhaps vanity. It was the beginning of the 1970s when women started joining the jatras, and men playing women began to be phased out. The best parts of the book are those where Bhaduri recalls playing female parts like Purnima and other feisty ladies with aplomb. With his career steeped in art and the folk form of jatra, Bhaduri is candid enough to admit that perhaps fame did go to his head, and he hadn’t prepared himself for his eventual and hasty curtain call.

He was then reduced to playing bit roles and even doing menial jobs. In his later years, he was reduced to playing the goddess Sitala, which won him encomiums but very little money. Bhaduri, while talking about his favourite dishes and their recipes, also briefly hints at his cannabis usage and how he steered clear of alcohol, possibly owing to childhood trauma dealing with an alcoholic father. The portions with his mother are tender and very moving.

Bhaduri doesn’t use fancy pronouns or LGBTQIA+ terms to describe himself or his adventures. While he suffered bullying and catcalling, he simply states he was a man who dressed up as a woman and felt like one while performing, and then happily slipped into wearing pyjama-kurtas in real life. There were no drag acts for him off-screen. The interludes in the book are irresistible, especially the one where a drag queen in Canada is both fascinated and disappointed by Chapal because he is unaffected, dismisses queer terms and lifestyles, and is unwilling to acknowledge the strident militancy of the gay subculture.

Actress Katrina Kaif has been away from the big screen for quite some time now. She was last seen in Merry Christmas with Vijay Sethupathi in 2024. Last year, the actress embraced parenthood, and following that, she has been keeping a low profile and focusing on her beauty brand.

As per a report in India Today, Katrina has resumed reading scripts and is evaluating potential projects for her comeback. The actress is interested in exploring streaming projects that could provide her with better opportunities. If things materialise, then it can be her first OTT project.

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The source also stated that the actress is in no rush to sign anything and is looking for a role that aligns with her current priorities as an actor and also a mother.

Katrina Kaif is also busy with her motherhood duties. She welcomed her firstborn, Vihaan Kaushal, with her husband, Vicky Kaushal, in November last year. A couple of weeks ago, she shared a carousel of photos on social media to wish her actor-husband on his birthday.

Among these pictures was a glimpse of baby Vihaan, with his hand visible in one of the frames.