As tributes continue to pour in from across the Indian film industry following the death of legendary filmmaker Bharathiraja, Thudarum director Tharun Moorthy has joined the growing chorus of voices remembering the veteran auteur. Several prominent film personalities have paid homage to the filmmaker, whose passing on Wednesday marked the end of a transformative chapter in Indian cinema.
Mohanlal, who shared screen space with Bharathiraja in Thudarum, wrote, "A director who found poetry in the soil, truth in silence, and soul in every frame. Sharing screen space with Bharathiraja Sir in Thudarum was an honour I will cherish forever. Rest in peace, Sir. Your legacy will continue to inspire generations, and your presence will be deeply missed."
Speaking to Manorama Online, Tharun reflected in detail on his experience of working with Bharathiraja in what became one of the veteran filmmaker's final released screen appearances. Remembering him as a living lesson in professionalism and a visionary who reshaped Tamil cinema, the director shared a series of deeply personal memories from the making of Thudarum.
Bharathiraja played Palani Swami, an ageing stunt master, in Mohanlal-starrer Thudarum. According to Tharun, the veteran was his first choice for the role from the moment he began writing the script. "From the very moment I started writing Thudarum, I wanted an actor from Tamil cinema for the role, and Bharathiraja sir was the only person in my mind," Tharun told. "I actually began writing the character, imagining him in it. We even started shooting with the hope that he would eventually join the film."
The director recalled that reaching Bharathiraja proved difficult during the early stages of production. By the time he met him in Chennai, the filmmaker was already battling serious health issues. "He agreed to do the film primarily because it was a Mohanlal film. He wanted to meet Mohanlal sir and spend some time with him,"Tharun said.
Despite his health challenges, Bharathiraja's commitment to his craft left a lasting impression on the young filmmaker. "He would arrive on set in the morning, understand the scene, and perform with complete sincerity despite all the difficulties that came with old age. He was a textbook example of how a cinema person should be," said Tharun.
One of Tharun's strongest memories involves the film's dubbing sessions. Many around him felt it would be impossible to have Bharathiraja dub for himself, given his condition, but the director remained determined. "I insisted that I wanted Bharathiraja sir's own voice in the film," he recalled. "He came to Four Frames Studio, but he was no longer in a condition where he could simply watch the footage and synchronise his dialogue. We would play the scene and then repeat the lines into his ear with the required modulation. He would listen carefully and reproduce them."
It was during that dubbing session that Bharathiraja asked Tharun to narrate the complete story of Thudarum. As the director explained the emotional arc involving the stunt master's life, his car, his bond with Shanmugham, and the character's eventual death, Bharathiraja became overwhelmed. "After hearing the entire story, he sat there in the studio and cried like a child," Tharun said. "He told me, 'Cinema is like this. Life is also like this. In the end, nobody remains. There was a time when everyone was around me, but now I am someone nobody needs.'" Tharun said he attempted to reassure the veteran filmmaker. "I told him, 'No, sir, that's not true. You are important to all of us.' But he kept saying, 'No, nobody needs me anymore.' There was a deep sense of insecurity and loneliness in the way he spoke."
Beyond his work as an actor, Tharun remembered Bharathiraja as an extraordinary visionary who transformed Tamil cinema. "I still remember him telling me, 'Thambi, once I was travelling and saw a man on the roadside. I stopped my vehicle, asked him if he would act, and eventually made him a hero.'" For Tharun, the anecdote perfectly captured Bharathiraja's instinctive understanding of cinema. "No filmmaker today would dare to do something like that," he said. "To pick a complete stranger from the roadside, cast him as a lead actor and make the film work requires extraordinary vision. That was Bharathiraja."
Widely credited with taking Tamil cinema out of artificial studio settings and into the lived realities of rural India, Bharathiraja made his directorial debut with 16 Vayathinile in 1977 and went on to direct nearly 40 films. His celebrated works include Kizhake Pogum Rail, Sigappu Rojakkal, Alaigal Oivathillai, Kaadhal Oviyam and Mudhal Mariyathai. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2004 and won multiple National Film Awards across a career spanning nearly five decades.
For Tharun, however, the filmmaker's greatest legacy lies beyond awards and achievements. "His passing is an irreplaceable loss," he said. "For people like us, he was a great teacher. For cinema lovers and for the film industry itself, his death leaves behind a void that can never truly be filled."
