Vairamuthu to erect a statue for K Balachander

In a state where film stars are worshipped as God, for perhaps the first time, a director is all set to get a statue. Lyricist Vairamuthu will be erecting a statue in memory of his late friend, director K Balachander in the latter’s native, Nallamangudi in Nannilam, Tiruvarur district.

“We have started to forget our torchbearers. These are people who must be remembered forever, for the work they did and the art they created will serve as an inspiration for generations to come. In the 50 years he spent making cinema, Balachander took Tamil cinema to new heights by exploring the problems of the middle-class and shining a light on life’s darker sides. He is a Dadasaheb Phalke Award-winner. This statue is my way of honouring this legend, who directed a hundred films,” says Vairamuthu, and adds, “There exists a bust of yesteryear director TR Sundaram, but that was installed in memory of his days as the president of the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce. This is why I believe this might be the first statue erected of a filmmaker in our state,” he informs.

Talking about his 36-year-old relationship with KB, he says, “My relationship with KB was not that of a director and lyricist; we were friends. Even he used to remark that he had very few friends and I was among them. I had met him for the first time when he was making Thanneer Thanneer. Kamal Haasan had recommended my name to him. I consider the lyrics that I wrote for his Sindhu Bhairavi, Punnagai Mannan, and Duet among my best works. He enriched my words with his visuals.”

The inauguration of the statue will be on July 9, Balachander’s

87th birthday

. Apart from Vairamuthu, Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam, director Vasanth Sai, and Pyramid Natarajan will speak about KB, while the Iyakkunar Sigaram’s wife, Rajam Balachander will be the special guest.

The lyricist says that the bust-level statue is made out of bronze and weighs 80kg. “I first made a model out of plaster of Paris and showed it to Mrs KB, and only after getting her blessings did we proceed,” he says.

The statue will be installed in the house where KB grew up, which has now been turned into a school.