The Tamil film industry plunged into gloom following the death of legendary filmmaker K. Balachander. Director K Balachander was given an emotional send-off in Chennai, where his last rites were held.

The industry members and thousands from various walks of life assembled at his residence here Wednesday to pay their last respects to the thespian.

From superstar Rajinikanth to DMK chief M. Karunanidhi, actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth to actors such as Vijay, Vikram, Arjun, Sathyaraj, Sarath Kumar, Khushbu, Prakash Raj, Sripriya, Manorama, Srikanth, Sivakumar, Dhanush, Visu, Mohan, T. Rajendar —— everyone paid their tributes.
KB, as Balachander was fondly called by everybody, breathed his last Tuesday following prolonged illness.

Filmmaker Mahendran urged that Balachander should be cremated with state honours.

Balachander’s last rites started at around 2 pm and his fans accompanied him in the last walk from his residence to his final resting place, at the Besant Nagar crematorium here.

Balachander would remain as one of the rare personalities in the Indian film industry, who not only mastered the art of filmmaking but also nurtured hundreds of youngsters in the profession. The multi-lingual filmmaker drew his storylines predominantly from social themes and family issues thus demystifying the anatomy of lives of socially dense Indian joint families.

A pioneer in making women-centric films, which were rare in the 1960s, Balachander focused on issues encircling the lives of ordinary women facing social and economic odds in films like 'Aval Oru Thodarkadhai', Haasan starrer 'Apoorva Raagangal' and Rajinikanth and Sujatha starrer 'Avargal'.

His scripts were also the first which captured heroism in the lives of ordinary women in south Indian cinema.