Bharathiraja Death: Mohanlal, Thudaram Director Tharun Moorthy Remember Filmmaker's Final Acting Role

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Indian film industry is paying tribute to the legendary Tamil filmmaker Bharathiraja; he died on June 10 at 84 in Chennai. His health had been on the decline for a while now. South stars from Rajinikanth to filmmakers such as SS Rajamouli have all mourned his death. The filmmaker also had an impressive career as an actor, appearing in films such as Aayutha Ezhuthu, Pandianadu and Kennedy Club. His last role as an actor came last year in the Malayalam film Thudaram. Now, the film's star Mohanlal and director Tharun Moorthy have remembered the veteran director who gave their feature his all, despite suffering from memory issues and ill health.

Mohanlal, Tharun Moorthy pay tribute to late Bharathiraja

On X (formerly Twitter), Thudaram star Mohanlal shared that working with Bharathiraja Sir was an honour he would cherish forever. He stated that the filmmaker's legacy would continue to inspire generations, and his presence will be deeply missed. He called Bharathiraja "a director who found poetry in the soil, truth in silence, and soul in every frame.'

Meanwhile, Tharun Moorthy shared several behind-the-scenes photos of the veteran filmmaker on the sets of Thudaram. He simply stated, "Thank you, Master," and said that memories of Thudaram would last forever. The filmmaker added a broken heart emoji to his post. In the Malayalam film, Bharathiraja has a supporting role as stunt master Palani Swamy, who is the mentor to Mohanlal's character "Benz" Shanmugham, a former stuntman.

Tharun Moorthy on Bharathiraja in Thudaram

In an interview with OnManorama, Tharun Moorthy revealed that Bharathiraja was very keen on sharing screen space with Mohanlal rather than acting in his film. The veteran filmmaker had several health issues and couldn't remember things properly. However, despite being on medication, Bharathiraja did not want to be a burden to the cast and crew of Thudaram.

Tharun also added that he helped him dub his lines during the dubbing sessions by sitting next to him and whispering his lines into his ear. The National Award winner struggled to remember dialogues and couldn't memorise all of his lines. Tharun was grateful that Bharathiraja was able to dub his lines in his distinct voice. After the dubbing session was complete, Tharun narrated the film's story one more time, moving the late filmmaker with the relationship between his character, the master, and his disciple, played by Mohanlal. Tamil Nadu CM Vijay was among the several prominent names in the Tamil film industry who visited Bharathiraja's home in Chennai to pay their last respects. The former actor announced that full state honours would be accorded to his funeral procession as a mark of respect.