Bharathiraja: Actor Pasupathy has become the latest to share his tribute for Bharathiraja, who passed away early today. While Pasupathy has not worked with the veteran director, the actor recalled a fond memory of his encounter with Bharathiraja.

In a conversation with CE, Pasupathy says, "I met Bharathiraja sir for the first time around 2004-2005. I was growing my hair long for a villain role in an upcoming film and he wanted me to cut my hair for his film. When I hesitated he quickly retorted, 'Why should the villain have long hair?'"

Pasupathy adds, "He was always breaking conventions. He didn't just take Tamil cinema out of the studio system, he also removed the stage play influences out of cinema and grounded it in reality."

"Bharathiraja sir is not just a part of Tamil cinema history, he is Tamil cinema's historic achievement," declares Pasupathy.

Bharathiraja was 84. The veteran director is survived by his wife and daughter.