Chinnasaamy Periyamaya (; 17 July 1941 – 10 June 2026), better known by his stage name Bharathiraja, was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor who worked mainly in the Tamil film industry. Making his debut in 1977 with 16 Vayathinile, he was known for realistic and sensitive portrayals of rural life in his films and popularly referred to as Iyakkunar Imayam (). Bharathiraja had won six National Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards South, six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and a Nandi Award. He also directed films in Telugu and Hindi. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri award, India's fourth-highest civilian honour, in 2004 for his contribution to the film industry. In 2005, he was conferred with the Doctor of Letters (honorary degree) from Sathyabama University.
Biography
Early life Bharathiraja was born as Chinnasaamy Periyamaya Thevar in Theni Allinagaram, a town in the Theni district of Tamil Nadu, on 17 July 1941, to parents K. Periyamaya Thevar and Karuthammal in a Kallar (Thevar) family. He made the name "Bharathiraja" as a portmanteau of his sister's name Bharathi and brother's name Jayaraj.
Film career Bharathiraja started his film career as an assistant to Kannada filmmaker Puttanna Kanagal. Later, he assisted P. Pullaiah, M. Krishnan Nair, Avinasi Mani and A. Jagannathan. His first film 16 Vayathinile, for which he wrote the script, broke the then existing convention to create a new genre of village cinema. The film is now regarded as a milestone in the history of Tamil Cinema. About the film, Bharathiraja said: "This movie was meant to be a black & white art film produced with the help of National Film Development Corporation", but turned out to be a commercially successful colour film and a starting point for several important careers. His next film Kizhake Pogum Rail produced similar results and eventually brought in criticisms that Bharathiraja was capable of catering only to rural audiences. This led him to make Sigappu Rojakkal, an urban psychological thriller.
Bharathiraja confirmed his versatility and refusal to be tied down to one particular genre with an experimental film Nizhalgal (1980), and the action thriller Tik Tik Tik (1981). But undoubtedly, rural themes proved to be his strong suit as his biggest hits in the 1980s: Alaigal Oivathillai (1981), Mann Vasanai (1983) and Muthal Mariyathai (1985) were strong love stories in a village backdrop.
Vedham Pudhithu dealt with the caste issue in a stronger manner. The film's narrative was seamless and starred Sathyaraj as Balu Thevar. It contains some of Bharathiraja's trademark touches as well as several ground-breaking scenes. Vedham Pudhithu made a revolutionary thoughts about caste discriminations in Brahmin and other upper castes in Tamil Nadu. Bharathiraja has successfully managed to modernise his film-making techniques for the 1990s. The commercial success of Kizhakku Cheemaiyile and the awards that Karuththamma garnered stand as testimony to his ability to thrill the younger generation as well. Bharathiraja was on the same stage in 1996 to receive another National Award for Anthimanthaarai.
In late 1996, Bharathiraja was signed on to direct two films, with the Sarathkumar-starrer Vaakkapatta Bhoomi announced in October. The following month, he began work on a film titled Siragugal Murivadhillai, starring Napolean, Heera Rajagopal and Prakash Raj. Both films were later shelved. He planned to revive Vaakkapatta Bhoomi with Cheran during late 2004, but the collaboration did not materialise.
His 2001 film Kadal Pookal won him that year's National Film Award for Best Screenplay. The well-known Tamil film director Bhagyaraj was one of his assistant directors. In 2008, Bharathiraja made his television debut with series Thekkathi Ponnu which aired on Kalaignar TV. He went on to direct two other series Appanum Aathaalum and Muthal Mariyathai for the same channel.
During early 2016, Bharathiraja was embroiled in a legal tussle with director Bala on making a film titled Kutra Parambarai, though neither filmmaker eventually made their respective films. He later moved on to plan a film starring director Vasanth's son, Ritwik Varun, and Vikram's nephew, but the film was dropped after two schedules. In 2018, Bharathiraja was working on a film titled 8 November, Iravu 8 Mani starring Vidharth, which narrates events following the decision to demonetise certain banknotes in India.
Death On 27 December 2025, Bharathiraja fell ill and was admitted to a private hospital in Chennai within a week. Hospital authorities confirmed that his condition was stable and many people from the film fraternity paid him a visit. He died of complications on 10 June 2026, at the age of 84 and was buried with full state honors. He was predeceased by his son, Manoj Bharathiraja, who had died in March 2025.
Personal life Bharathiraja married Chandraleela in 1974 and had two children Manoj Bharathiraja (1976–2025) and Janani (born 1979).
Manoj was an actor who was introduced in the 1999 Bharathiraja-directed Taj Mahal. Manoj married actress Nandana. He died of a heart attack on 25 March 2025. Janani is married to Rajkumar Thambiraja in Malaysia.
Bharathiraja's brother-in-law Manoj Kumar has directed films such as Mannukkul Vairam, Vandicholai Chinraasu, Vaanavil and Guru Paarvai. His brother Jayaraj made his acting debut with Kaththukkutti. His relative Stalin Muthu is a television actor who acted in serials such as Saravanan Meenatchi and 7C.
Style, critique and public perception
When the old era was dominated by films shot inside studios, Bharathiraja directed village themed films that inspired Tamil cinema to capture live locations. Array of village films in Tamil cinema started after his trendsetting film 16 Vayathinile. He changed the attire of male lead role as simple and without much cosmetics and female leads in his films as dusky looking which were before dominated by fair skinned ladies. He started the style of directors speaking to the audience with his famous dialogue "En Iniya Thamizh Makkale (My sweet Tamil people)". Bharathiraja is revered as one of the best directors of Indian cinema. His ideas were original and his subjects were complex ideas expressed in a manner every common man could understand.
Bharathiraja was also known for introducing a number of new faces to the film industry. He has introduced many actors as new faces notable among them are Karthik, Radha, Revathi, Radhika, and Vijayashanti. Apart from lead actors, he has introduced a bunch of supporting actors. Notable among them include Janagaraj, Vadivukkarasi, Chandrasekhar, Pandiyan, and Napoleon. As an experimental initiative he used to give new actors a small role in his films later they becoming popular among people and turning to busy actors. Many present day directors who were unknown to people turned into actors after playing a debut petty role in his films: K. Bhagyaraj, Manivannan, Manobala, Thiagarajan, and Ponvannan are among them. He was also instrumental in portraying Sathyaraj for the first time in lead role.
He inspired many young film makers and ran a school called Bharathi Raja International Institute of Cinema (BRIIC) on film making.
Bharathiraja directed socially themed films with special emphasis on women and their complicated interpersonal relationships. He addressed other social evils like caste discrimination in his films.
Awards
Civilian honours 2004 – Padma Shri from the Government of India
National Film Awards 1982 – National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu for Seethakoka Chilaka (Director) 1986 – National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil for Mudhal Mariyathai (Producer & Director) 1988 – National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues Vedham Pudhithu (Director) 1995 – National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare for Karuththamma (Director) 1996 – National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil for Anthimanthaarai (Director) 2001 – National Film Award for Best Screenplay for Kadal Pookkal (Director & Writer)
Filmfare Awards South 1978 – Best Tamil Director for Sigappu Rojakkal 1987 – Best Tamil Film for Vedham Pudhithu 1987 – Best Tamil Director for Vedham Pudhithu 1994 – Best Tamil Film for Karuthamma
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards 1977 – Best Director Award for 16 Vayathinile 1979 – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film – Second Prize – Puthiya Vaarpugal 1981 – Best Director Award for Alaigal Oivathillai 1994 – Best Film Portraying Woman in Good Light for Karuththamma 2001 – Tamil Nadu State Film Honorary Award – Arignar Anna Award in 2001 2003 – Best Film in First place Eera Nilam
Nandi Awards 1981 – Nandi Award for Best Director for Seethakoka Chiluka
Vijay Awards 2012 – Contribution to Tamil Cinema 2013 – Best Supporting Actor for Pandiya Naadu
Other awards 1980 – South Indian Film Technicians : Best Technician Award for Kallukkul Eeram 2005 – Honorary doctorate (D.Litt) from Sathyabama University 2015 – SIIMA Lifetime Achievement Award
Controversies He attended the Maaveerar Naal (Heroes Day) Conference, which was a day to remember the deaths of militants who fought with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which had been banned in India as a terrorist group since 1992, in the wake of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination a year prior, in Jaffna, Sri Lanka and appreciated its bravery and valour. He organised a protest by Nadigar Sangam against the Indian state of Karnataka for not releasing Cauvery water at Neyveli. During an interview to Sun TV channel, film co-stars such as Sarath Kumar and wife Radhika who attended the conference accused him of using that opportunity to eulogise current Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha and launching attacks on actor Rajinikanth's home state's ethnicity.
Filmography As director, producer and screenwriter Films Note: he is credited in many films as Bharathirajaa. Year Title Credited asLanguage NotesDirectorWriterProducer197716 VayathinileTamilTamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Director1978Kizhakke Pogum RailSigappu RojakkalFilmfare Award for Best Tamil Director1979Solva SawanHindiRemake of 16 VayathinilePuthiya VaarpugalTamilNiram Maaratha PookkalVoice for Vijayan 1980Kotha JeevithaluTeluguRemake of Puthiya VaarpugalRed RoseHindiRemake of Sigappu RojakkalNizhalgal Tamil 1981Alaigal OivathillaiTamil Nadu State Film Award for Best DirectorSeethakoka ChilukaTeluguNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in TeluguTik Tik TikTamil 1982Kaadhal OviyamValibamey Vaa Vaa1983Mann VasanaiLoversHindiRemake of Alaigal Oivathillai / Seethakoka Chiluka 1984Pudhumai PennTamil1985Oru Kaidhiyin DiaryMudhal MariyathaiNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil1986Saveray Wali GaadiHindiKadalora KavithaigalTamil25th film1987Vedham PudhithuNational Film Award for Best Film on Other Social IssuesAradhanaTelugu1988JamadagniDubbed in Tamil as Naarkaali KanavugalKodi ParakuthuTamilVoice for Manivannan1990En Uyir Thozhan1991Pudhu Nellu Pudhu Naathu1992Nadodi Thendral1993Captain MagalKizhakku Cheemayile1994KaruthammaNational Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare1995Pasumpon1996Tamizh SelvanAnthimanthaaraiNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil1999Taj Mahal2001Kadal PookkalNational Film Award for Best Screenplay2003Eera Nilam2004Kangalal Kaidhu Sei2008Bommalattam2013Annakodi2016Final Cut of DirectorHindi2020Meendum Oru MariyathaiTamil
Television List of TV Serials directed by Bharathiraja and aired on Kalaignar TV.
Thekkathi Ponnu Appanum Aathalum Muthal Mariyathai Modern Love Chennai – Web series Episode 5: Paravai Kootil Vaazhum Maangal
As actor