There is something that you will not find on K. Bhagyarajs Wikipedia page. Before he became a filmmaker he used to pull rickshaws and work in a circus in Kakinada. This is not a story about a person who struggled to become an artist. This is about a person who actually did work to survive.
K. Bhagyaraj was born on January 7 1953 in a town called Vellankoil near Gobichettipalayam in Erode district. He did not have a way to get into the film industry.. He found a way to become an assistant director. He worked with Bharathiraja, a Tamil filmmaker on films like 16 Vayathinile and Kizhakke Pogum Rail. He also wrote dialogues for Sigappu Rojakkal. Worked on screenplays for other films.
By 1979 K. Bhagyaraj had won a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer. He had also made his film as a director. He worked hard and moved quickly when he got the chance.
People often use the word "prolific" to describe filmmakers but it has lost its meaning. Let me tell you what K. Bhagyaraj did in 1981. He wrote, directed and acted in four films. Mouna Geethangal , Indru Poi Naalai Vaa , Vidiyum Varai Kaathiru , Andha 7 Naatkal. Each film was different with its story and emotions.
Andha 7 Naatkal is a film. K. Bhagyaraj played the role of Palakkad Madhavan, a music director who falls in love with a woman who's married to someone else. The film does not have a villain. The husband is a person and the situation is just life. The ending of the film is very emotional. It affected the audience deeply. The film was remade three times in languages.
In the 1970s Tamil cinema was all about superstars, big films, songs and emotions. The hero had to be a than-life character. K. Bhagyaraj changed this. His heroes were clever not invincible. They talked their way out of situations than fighting their way out. They were people who lived in apartments took buses and had normal families.
K. Bhagyarajs film Mundhanai Mudichu is an example of this. The film is about a woman and her unwanted suitor and it is full of sharp dialogue. There are no action scenes just talking. The script is the action. K. Bhagyaraj won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in Tamil for this film.His dialogues were special. They had meanings but they were constructed in a way that made them sound witty not vulgar. Later other filmmakers tried to copy him. They missed the point. They kept the meaning but forgot the construction. K. Bhagyarajs dialogues required attention they were not just jokes.
Over four decades K. Bhagyaraj. Directed more than 25 films and acted in over 75 films. Many of his Tamil films were remade in Hindi. He directed Amitabh Bachchan in Aakhree Raasta K. Bhagyaraj was not a regional filmmaker he made films that were loved by people all over India
Photo: @Johan Sathyadas
K. Bhagyaraj did not just make films he also made filmmakers. Many directors, like K.S. Ravikumar, R. Parthiban and K.S. Adhiyaman started their careers as his assistants. In his years he acted in many films like Kanithan Thupparivaalan and Ponmagal Vandhal. He was always comfortable in front of the camera. He brought a sense of authority to his roles.
K. Bhagyaraj also started a party edited a Tamil magazine wrote novels and won many awards. He was a man who kept finding things to do.
He is survived by his wife, Poornima Bhagyaraj and their two children Shanthanu Bhagyaraj and Saranya Bhagyaraj.
Kamal Haasan said that Tamil cinema had lost two kings in the month. The other king was Bharathiraja, the man who had taught K. Bhagyaraj everything. It is a coincidence that they both passed away within weeks of each other. Two pillars of Tamil cinema gone before July.
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Joseph Vijay announced that K. Bhagyaraj would be given state honors at his funeral. Many film stars, like Rajinikanth, Mani Ratnam and Sivakumar came to pay their respects to K. Bhagyaraj.
Photo: @Johan Sathyadas
K. Bhagyarajs films are not old movies. People still watch Andha 7 Naatkal. Feel the emotions deeply. His dialogues are still quoted by people on media at family dinners and in everyday conversations.
This is the measure of a storytellers success. Not awards, not box office numbers. The fact that his words are still remembered and used by people today.
Tamil cinema has changed a lot since K. Bhagyarajs time. The heroes are bigger the budgets are bigger the special effects are better.. The best moments in modern Tamil cinema are still the quiet ones, the ones that are built around characters and dialogue.
This is K. Bhagyarajs legacy. He did not just make films he changed the way Tamil cinema tells stories.
