Dear Jeyamohan,

The tribute to Bharathiraja in Frontline is heartwarming. I found myself reading it again and again. Thank you for writing it in English. In Tamil, I have not yet come across a balanced and apt tribute to him. Here, we seem unable to write anything other than eulogies. We begin to display our sycophancy whenever a celebrity dies. If someone says something balanced, we immediately start abusing him.

English itself is a language that encourages balance. Thank you for not using phrases such as “Himalaya among directors” in that article and thereby avoiding the kind of exaggeration that often accompanies praise. In that article, you described his generosity and artistic temperament while, at the same time, placing his contribution in the proper context of Indian cinema and Tamil cinema.

M. Rajapandiyan

Bharathiraja (1942-2026): The complete artist

The tribute to Bharathiraja.