CHENNAI: Tamil industry has lost yet another icon in just a span of 17 days of director Bharathiraja’s death-- none other than his assistant and one of his confidantes, K Bhagyaraj. The director-writer and an actor breathed his last on Saturday in Chennai. He was 73. Having directed entertainers like Suvarillaadha Chithirangal, Oru Kai Osai, Mouna Geethangal, Indru Poiye Naalai Vaa, Andha 7 Naatkal, Raasukutti, Mundhaanai Mudichu, Dhaavani Kanavugal, Chinna Veedu, Sundara Kaandam, and Chokka Thangam-- all blockbusters and some even ran in theatres for almost a year. Sitting at his office on the ground floor of his residence, the scribe once told him that looking back he should be one of the happiest directors in Indian cinema. Without a second thought, he replied, “Writer. Writing irundha dhaane direction.” (Without good writing, a director would hardly have anything to direct).”
He took us through how his characters that entertained us through the years are the ones he came across in his hometown. “Many characters that you have seen in my films on screen, are people I have seen in Vellankoil (his hometown in present day Erode district) during my teenages. I can’t say much about the characters played by me, and my best friends Palanichamy and Ramli in Indru Poiye Naalai Vaa. But you meet such characters everywhere. What I meant to say is, when these things are on papers, it is half the job done. So writing is the core for any film,” he said.
Bhagyaraj was also at the helm of the South Indian Film Writers’ Association, a position in which he served complete justice to several budding writers whenever they approached him in times of plagiarism. But Bhagyaraj also was inveighing against the writing culture in Tamil cinema and said that there should be a proper film writing school for budding writers. “Screen writing is a different ball game altogether and we need to have a proper infrastructure to encourage more people to write,” something he strongly believed in.
As hilarious as his comedies were and trendsetters his films were, one thing that we couldn’t stop noticing is his calm demeanour, which took us by surprise. During our first meeting a few years ago while we visited his house around Pongal week, he greeted us calmly and spoke very few words. Even after a few meetings, he remained the same person and was in his elements as the conversation progressed. As a director, one thing he was happy about was how he finished his films in the right budget at the right time. “We never abused the privileges when we filmed in reels,” he laughed. We still smile at the memories we have shared and laughed at the situational comedies you have written for us. ‘Indru Poiye, Naalai Vaa’ Bhagyaraj, the undisputed king of screenplay in Indian cinema.