Go well, Bharathiraja sir: Ponvannan’s heartfelt tribute to ‘Iyakkunar Imayam’

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Ponvannan with Bharathiraja | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

I had been observing the decline in his [Bharathiraja’s] health up close for over a year. I couldn’t help but think of the times when he was full of energy and authority. At the same time, it was quite depressing to see him in pain. To watch a man who used to talk in that majestic voice of his, talk with pain...

So, when news of his passing reached me, I wasn’t overcome by sadness; I was more relieved that he was finally free from pain. I felt somewhat at ease, it was as though I was the one who was freed from pain. Ever since it dawned on me that he is no more, the many memories I shared with him have been playing in my mind like a movie, particularly when I am in solitude. Memories that were buried deep, ones I may otherwise never recollect, keep surfacing.

I didn’t enter the cinema industry to become an actor or director. I was a painter, and I wanted to become a banner artist. When I couldn’t sustain in the field, I began to tap into another skill: writing. It was my journey to become a writer that eventually brought me to Bharathiraja sir. While working on sets, I became friends with an art director named Devadas, who had been working in his films. It was Devadas who told Bharathiraja sir about this young boy who paints well and works sincerely. That’s how I met him. He then saw the work I had done, and on the very first meeting, asked me to work under him as an assistant director. My bond with Bharathiraja sir started then. And life gifted me the opportunity to share a personal bond with him over the years.

After inducting me as his assistant, he also promoted me to write dialogues for a few of his films. In fact, after I failed as a director, he gave me a new lease of life as an actor in Pudhu Nellu Pudhu Naathu. It was I who asked him for that opportunity, telling him I needed something to sustain myself financially. And to this day, it is acting that sustains my life. I won’t say he gave me that opportun