On the 96th birth anniversary of K Balachander, actor and Member of Parliament Kamal Haasan took to social media to remember the director. Kamal Haasan began his career as an adult actor with K Balachander's Arangetram (1973).

"Today is the birthday of my teacher K Balachander, who shone as a university in the Tamil film world. I take great pride in being his primary student forever," wrote Kamal Haasan, through his X handle.

After Arangetram (1973), Kamal collaborated with K Balachander for Sollathaan Ninaikkiren (1973), Paruva Kaalam (1974), Aval Oru Thodar Kathai (1974), and Apoorva Ragangal (1975), which was the silver screen debut of Rajinikanth.

The pair have collaborated on more than 25 projects over the course of 30+ years.

K Balachander's final film credit was as an actor in Uttama Villain (2015), where he played the role of director Margadarisi, the mentor of Kamal Haasan's character, actor Manoranjan.