Tamil filmmaker Bharathiraja passed away on June 10 at the age of 84, leaving the film industry in mourning. In his final acting role, he played stunt master Palani Swamy in the Malayalam film Thudarum, directed by Tharun Moorthy. Despite struggling with memory issues and failing health, Bharathiraja insisted on not being a burden on the production and even dubbed for himself in the film.
Tharun Moorthy recalled how Bharathiraja would sit beside him in dubbing sessions and whisper lines into his ears. The veteran actor was moved by the film's story, which conveys the idea that anyone can be a hero or a zero, and that the ultimate goal is to be human.
Bharathiraja was a legendary filmmaker who transformed Tamil cinema by shifting filmmakers out of studios and into rural landscapes. He won six National Film Awards and was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2004. The film industry has come together to pay their final respects to him, with several celebrities paying their condolences on social media.
