J Mahendran death: Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan attend last rites of veteran Tamil filmmaker, pay tributes (In Pics)

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J Mahendran, the well-known Tamil director, passed away on Tuesday in Chennai at the age of 79. The veteran filmmaker had been critically ill and was undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospital for over a week.  J Mahendran’s death has left the entire Tamil film industry in a state of shock and, now several Tamil film celebrities attended the J Mahendran last rites in Chennai.

Rajinikanth arrived at J Mahendran’s house to pay last respects to the deceased filmmaker.

Kamal Haasan was also seen at the last rites paying homage to director J Mahendran.

Besiades Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, several Tamil stars got together to bid a final farewell to the legendary filmmaker.

"He died early this morning at his residence. He was brought home from the hospital last evening after being treated for a week. The cremation services will take place this evening," the publicist told IANS.

Filmmakers such as A.R Murugadoss, Lakshmy Ramakrishnan and Pa. Ranjith mourned Mahendran's loss. They took to Twitter to express their condolences.

"It is deeply saddening to hear the demise of one of the pioneer filmmakers Mahendran sir. You and your films live forever in our hearts sir. Rest in peace," Murugadoss tweeted. 

Cinematographer PC Sreeram wrote: "He spoke less and his films spoke more. To me his films were of great inspiration How can I forget the sleepless night I had after watching 'Uthiri Pookal' May his soul rest on peace."

"Prayers and Salute to one of the greatest film makers of our times, Mahendran sir," Lakshmy Ramakrishnan tweeted.

Born in 1939, Mahendran began his career as a scriptwriter and made his debut with the 1966 Tamil film "Naam Moovar". He went on to write a few more films before 

taking the directorial plunge with Rajinikanth's critically-acclaimed 1978 film "Mullum Mallarum".

Known for truly bringing out the acting potential in Rajinikanth, his other collaborations with the superstar include "Johnny" and "Kai Kodukkum Kai".
His 1979 film "Uthiri Pookal", starring Vijayan, Ashwini and Madhu Malini, is still considered one of the best Tamil films to be made.