Chennai: Kollywood legendary director K Bhagyaraj (73) passes away on Saturday in a hospital due to cardiac arrest. He is survived by his former actress wife, Poornima, and their children, actor Shanthanu and Saranya.

He complained of chest pain after returning from his morning walk and was rushed to the hospital, where he breathed his last, said actress Suhasini Maniratnam.

His first debut in Tamil as a traditional village physician in the romantic film 16 Vayathinile (1977), directed by his mentor Bharathiraja. Krishnaswamy Bhagyaraj was born on January 7^th, 1953, in Erode district. He began as an assistant director under legendary filmmaker K Bharathiraja.

He was a cut above the rest in portraying ordinary people with a reliability rooted in real life-crafting subtle humour and delivering sharp, witty dialogues that effortlessly entertained audiences.

Bhagyaraj’s multi-faceted talents made him an ultimate cinematic auteur who revolutionised Indian commercial cinema by replacing larger-than-life superheroes with everyday underdogs. He acted in over 75 films, apart from directing about 25.

His roles, mostly drawn from middle-class lives, held a charm as his exquisite screenplay combined with his on-screen persona. His well-balanced family comedy-dramas and razor-sharp screenplays made him a lasting favourite of the masses.

His illustrious five-decade career rose as a one-man studio writing, directing, acting, and composing music for his films. Bhagyaraj earned the sobriquet King of Screenplay (Thiraikkadhai Mannan). He emerged as a successful director with films such as Suvarilladha Chiththirangal, Darling Darling Darling and Idhu Namma Aalu.

His first directorial venture, Suvarilladha Chiththirangal (1979), established his distinct signature of blending sensitive family emotions with natural, lighthearted humour. The film revolves around a struggling, impoverished family dealing with societal pressures and financial hardship.

Unlike many films that relegated comedy to separate scenes, Bhagyaraj’s humour merged seamlessly with the situation and felt entirely natural, making it timeless. His script for Oru Kaidhiyin Diary became a big Hindi hit Aakhree Raasta starring Amitabh Bachchan. His Tamil superhit Mundhanai Mudichu was remade in Hindi as Masterji, starring Rajesh Khanna.

In a career spanning over five decades, Bhagyaraj gave numerous hits, and some of his celebrated directorial and action works include – Andha 7 naatkal, Chinna Veedu, and Enga Chinna Rasa. Apart from his film career, Bhagyaraj has been the editor of the Tamil weekly magazine Bhagya, and he has authored several novels.

DMK president and former Chief Minister MK Stalin too paid his last respects. He described Bhagyaraj as an incredible director who succeeded in everything, being the uncrowned king of screenplays in Indian cinema, a realistic hero who attracted everyone, and a writer who had the power to convey complex situations in short dialogues.

MDMK General Secretary Vaiko expressed his profound grief on Bhagyaraj’s demise and he remembered his dedication in Tamil films. AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami expressed shocked anguish over the death of Bhagyaraj. He described him as a multi-talented film director, screenplay writer, actor and music composer.

EPS in his twitter X posted his post that Bhagyaraj was a great admirer of M G Ramachandran (AIADMK founder and former Chief Minister). He adapted the scenes from the late leader’s unfinished film ‘Anna Nee En Deivam’ (in 1977) and made a new screenplay based on it, making it a successful film called ‘Avasara Police 100’ (in1990).