Following the demise of legendary filmmaker Bharathiraja in the early hours of Wednesday, condolences have been pouring in from all across the Tamil film industry. John Mahendran, filmmaker and son of the late veteran director Mahendran, expresses deep sadness on hearing about the passing of one of his favourite filmmakers. “There are only two people who could call me anytime and I would pick up immediately. One is Rajini sir and the other is Bharathiraja sir. Such was my respect and adoration towards him. I was shattered to hear of his passing today.”
Speaking about the visionary filmmaker’s groundbreaking cinematic style, John goes on to reveal that Muthal Mariyathai (1985) is his favourite Bharathiraja film. He says, “The film revolves around what is technically an illegitimate affair. But you never feel it anywhere. He presents it beautifully in a dignified manner, and he did that in a time when such topics were taboo. My father used to say Ilaiyaraaja was like a dialogue writer for him, feeding meaning in between silences. I would say this aspect was best demonstrated in Muthal Mariyathai.”
John Mahendran fondly recalls the bond shared by Bharathiraja and his father, Mahendran. “When my father was a writer, he had a very specific idea, a philosophy, and grammar for how to direct a film. When he watched 16 Vayathinile in 1977, he came home and ranted to my mother about how this new director has made a stunning film in exactly all the ways he was planning to make a film. And interestingly, Bharathiraja later told my father that he felt the same way after watching his Uthiri Pookkal (1979).”
What started as a mutual adoration blossomed into full blown friendship, which led to them meeting often to discuss films. “They used to regularly meet and discuss films they had watched. My father used to introduce Hollywood films to him and Bharathiraja sir would recommend regional films in return. Back then, they were very big fans of Kannada and Malayalam cinema, and used to lament about how Tamil cinema should catch up,” he says.
Even though Bharathiraja was a big fan of Mahendran’s Uthiri Pookkal, he was later enamoured with the director’s Poottaatha Poottukkal (1980) and said it was better than Uthiri Pookkal. John adds, “Bharathiraja sir was adamant about distributing that film. Interestingly, even my father was against it because he thought it was too experimental. Bharathiraja sir was very resolute in his decision and the film didn’t do well, as predicted, but that was the least of his concerns. He always stood for good cinema and what he believed to be good for cinema, even if it meant financial loss.”
The filmmaker gets emotional when he recounts the day of his father’s passing in 2019, and how Bharathiraja was overwhelmed on that day. “He was visibly shaken. Even while he spoke to the media that day, he didn’t speak in a formal, media-trained fashion. He poured his heart out. Almost a week after that happened, he called me out of the blue, said he rewatched Uthiri Pookkal and spoke at length about his admiration for my father,” says John.
Bharathiraja’s affinity towards the Tamil Eelam movement and LTTE has been well documented. There was a time when prominent Tamil filmmakers met LTTE’s founder Velupillai Prabhakaran to extend their solidarity. “He was very passionate towards the Tamil Eelam cause. He met Mr Prabhakaran before my father and I. And when we finally did, I came back to Chennai to make a film called Aanivaer (2006) about the war in Sri Lanka. Appa made two short films as well. Even though he didn’t have to, Bharathiraja sir flew back to Chennai and stayed with me for the first few days of the shoot. He gave me a lot of advice on filmmaking and made sure everything went smoothly. He was particular that I didn’t make the film too violent, so that it reached a bigger audience. His love for Tamil, Tamil cinema, and Tamil makkal, will always be inspiring,” he signs off.