Jayabharathi, Kudisai Director, Dies At 77 Due To Age-related Ailments

Kudisai (The Hut) fame film director and writer Jayabharathi, hailed as a pioneer of alternate genre cinema, died in Chennai due to age-related ailments on early Friday, December 6, a source close to him told PTI. He was 77. According to a report in PTI, Jayabharathi was admitted to a hospital after his health deteriorated.

Tamil film industry veteran Jayabharathi 'lived only for alternate cinema': Tamil comedian S Ve Shekher

"He was a person who lived only for alternate cinema. When he gets Rs 10,000 he would think of making an alternate cinema. He lived for alternate cinemas all his life. He was greatly influenced by international films. We can say Jayabharathi is a pioneer of alternate genre cinemas," Tamil film comedian and former legislator S Ve Shekher, who gave the sound effects for Jayabharathi’s maiden film Kudisai told PTI.

Shekhar has appealed to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin to confer state honours on Jayabharathi.

Who was Jayabharathi?

Jayabharathi was a director and screenwriter who worked in the Tamil film industry. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of alternate cinema in the Tamil industry. He directed around nine movies in his career spanning 5 decades - Kudisai, Oomai Janangal and Rendum Rendum Anju - among others. His last directorial was Puthiran in 2010.

Jayabharathi's 2002 film Nanba Nanba, which had Shekher's brother in the lead role, won the National Award in the Best Supporting Actor category. However, before making big in the industry he worked as a journalist.

According to a report in PTI, Jayabharathi lived in poverty during his last phase of life.