Prominent Director J. Mahendran Passed Away!
Prominent film director J. Mahendran (79), passed away early on Tuesday morning, following a brief hospitalization. He was admitted to Apollo Hospitals on March 27, after he became sick following a dialysis session. He was on a ventilator, according to hospital sources, but was discharged on Monday. His son John Mahendran confirmed his passing on social media.
Born in 1939, Mahendran started his film career penning stories for Tamil films. Mahendran is best known for introducing realism in Tamil cinema. Earlier in an interview Veteran director described his entry into cinema as forced, “It is my anger towards Tamil films that motivated me to make films that are real, where people smiled and spoke normally. I made films for pleasure and not for commercial success.”
Mahendran made his directorial debut with Mullum Malarum, a critically acclaimed drama starring Rajinikanth, Sarath Babu, Fatafat Jayalaxmi and Shoba, in 1978.
Many celebrities who attended the last rites of J Mahendran include Rajinikanth and his wife, Kamal Hassan, Karthik Subbaraj, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Ilaiyaraaja, Bobby Simha, Vijay Sethupathi, Vetri Maaran, and others.
