Bharathiraja
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Briefly
A.Subramani, June 11, 2026: The Times of India
Chennai : Tamil film director Bharathiraja’s rustic themes won millions of hearts — and six national awards.
Born in Theni-Allinagaram as Chinnasamy, Bharathiraja worked briefly as a malaria inspector in the Tamil Nadu health department. After short apprenticeships under different directors, he announced his arrival with a bang in 1977, with 16 Vayadhiniley. A cult movie that marked the beginning of a new era in Tamil cinema, it immortalised the characters played by Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan and Sridevi.
Like Aladdin swiping the magic lamp to set free the genie, Bharathiraja liberated Tamil cinema that had remained bottled up in studio sets and shooting floors. His 16 Vayadhiniley revealed the rugged and lush beauty of TN countryside to both moviemakers and movie-goers.
Asked about his achievement, Bharathiraja would famously tell a film gathering later: “Cinema took me to Chennai. I took the cinema to my villages. I filmed the life of laymen.” His second film, Kizhakkey Pogum Rayil, was a runaway hit, while Sigappu Rojakkal, a psychological thriller starring Kamal Haasan and Sridevi, and Alaigal Oayvathillai, a sparkling teenage romance, were among the many pathbreaking movies he churned out.
Bharathiraja turned producer for his fourth film, Puthiya Vaarpugal, and made his assistant director K Bhagyaraj debut as actor alongside Rati Agnihotri. Both of them went on to become big stars in years to come.
Though Bharathiraja initially wanted to be an actor, destiny had other plans and put him behind the camera. However, he started doing cameos in 1978 (Kizhakkey Pogum Rayil) and it continued till 2025 (Thudarum) in Malayalam.
In a career spanning 43 years, Bharathiraja made 42 movies, besides a number of serials.
