Director K Balachander Passes Away

K. Balachander (1930-2014)

K Balachander, one of the most revered filmmakers in Indian film industry, has passed away. He was 84 years old and for the past few weeks, he suffering from severe urinary tract infection and fever which did not subside even after continuous treatment. Few days ago, Balachander was admitted to Kauvery hospital in Chennai and although there was news that he was showing signs of recovery, he breathed his last at 7:10 PM on Tuesday evening in the hospital.

His demise truly marks the end of an era and over the past 45 years of his career, he has created several memorable characters and introduced scores of new talent. The veteran director was the mentor for Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth and directed classics like Anthuleni Katha, Thoorpu Padamara, Maro Charitra, Akali Rajyam and Rudraveena to name a few. In Tamil, his filmography is unparalleled and throughout his career, he continued to push the boundaries of story-telling, along with creating strong characterisations for actresses in all his films.

K Balachander was the recipient of Padma Shri, nine National awards, ANR National award and Dadasaheb Phalke award, apart from countless other honours in Telugu and Tamil film industries.