Even as the Tamil film industry is coming to terms with the loss of veteran filmmaker Bharathiraja, director Nithilan Saminathan, who worked with him in Kurangu Bommai and Maharaja, opens up about his grief and refers to him as his father.
Nithilan shares that he had known Bharathiraja from his short film days. "Even before I debuted with Kurangu Bommai, I was crazy about Bharathiraja sir. For a long time, I wanted to make a full-fledged film with him. I didn't have a script, but I had an idea which I shared with him while working on the film, and he encouraged me. I've known him since my short film days, and he was extremely motivating back then," he shares.
On why he felt the filmmaker would fit the bill for the character in Kurangu Bommai, Nithilan continues, "When I was casting for the father character in Kurangu Bommai, I couldn't look past Bharathiraja sir. He was a perfect fit for the role." He then adds that casting him in the film was "karumbu thinga coolie" (getting paid for eating sugarcane), saying, "It satiated two things—my desire to work with him and him suiting the role perfectly."
The director, who worked with him again for a short role in Maharaja, explains that the list of lessons he learnt from him is lengthy. "There are too many things I learnt from him. At the top of my mind, I learnt how to make artists perform. He was never strict while instructing his artists but always ensured to get the work done. He would give them the space to think and contribute to the character and would bring out the best in them," he details.
A grief-stricken Nithilan then discloses that Bharathiraja was like his father. "When I first met him, I was nervous because of the veteran he was. But he easily broke the ice and treated me like his own son, almost like a father placing his son on his lap. He was like my father. I still cherish the lovely moments I have shared with him, and I find it difficult to come to terms with his loss," he says with his voice brimming with tears.
Bharathiraja breathed his last at the age of 85 succumbing to age-related ailments at his residence in Chennai.
