The filmmaker says that Karunanidhi’s love for cinema knew no bounds. “Despite being an active politician, he was addressed as Kalaignar because of his love for cinema. I don’t think anybody deserves the title of ‘Kalaignar’ apart from Karunanidhi.” His dialogues were hard-hitting and had a huge impact on the masses. Moreover, he had the habit of calling up people from the film industry and congratulating them when he heard that their film had fared well at the box-office. He was the only Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, who broke several protocols when it came to meeting film-associated persons. He was easily accessible and met us without prior appointments because of his love for cinema. Even four days ago, I was telling my family that if someone had approached him to write dialogues for their film before he was bed-ridden, that would have been the perfect medicine for his health and he would have still been around now.”

On the personal rapport that he shared with the statesman, he says, “He usually started by asking people ‘What is the matter?’ But with me, that wasn’t the case. He started with ‘Epdi irukeenga Sekhar’ (how are you Sekhar) followed by ‘How is Shoba doing, how is ‘thambi’ Vijay doing?’ before starting with the issue. Both our families shared a great rapport. He would never allow us to leave from his home without having breakfast or lunch,” SAC says, adding that Karunanidhi’s willpower was something he always looked up to. 

“I was praying for him to win the last elections and see him as Chief Minister. Had he won the elections, he would have gone on to live beyond 100. I am very disturbed at the news; we have lost a great leader and I have lost my brother. It is a great loss for the film fraternity too,” he concludes.

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