As Bharathiraja breezed into Tamil cinema with 16 Vayathinile, into a sylvan landscape, he not only transformed what was being shown on screen, but also brought in a new grammar for characterisation in Tamil cinema.

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With fresh eyes, groomed on a rural story line in the lush surroundings of Theni in south Tamil Nadu, Bharathiraja decided he was done with the conventional tropes of the hero, the baddie, and a hanger-on heroine. Interestingly, this director who has introduced a number of heroes and heroines, found that his heroines became iconic stars, while the heroes, with a few exceptions, got by. In this, lies the subtext of how Bharatiraja imagined and sculpted his dramatis personnae– strong women, mellow heroes, and a liberal spattering of motley characters adding depth to the storytelling.

This asymmetric attention that Bharathiraja pays to male and female characters emerges over his repertoire of films. Repeatedly, the heroines stand out in relief, while the heroes redefine ‘heroism’. It is well known that Bharathiraja had a literal Midas touch introducing heroines. Besides Radha, Radikaa Sarathkumar, Revathy, Rekha, and Ranjitha, his ‘R series’ of heroines, Vijayashanti the action heroine, also got a foot hold in cinema thanks to him. Take Mayil, for instance, in 16 Vayathinile. Sridevi dazzles as a school girl whose vulnerabilities and strengths remain the pivot of the film. The men, whether it is Kamal Hassan’s Chappani or Rajinikanth’s Parattaiyan, nevermind what position on the good-evil spectrum they may lie, are all destined to circumnavigate Mayil. For those seeking heroes in the movies, Bharathiraja offers Chappani, a man drawing courage and support from the heroine, a ‘mellow hero’.

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While Bharathiraja gave Chappani a noticeable limp, he also dared to give thespian Sivaji Ganesan age in the classic Muthal Mariyathai. In his masterpiece about love between an aged man and a young woman, Sivaji is the ‘mellow hero’, his silver hair used as a metaphor and as a sign of the vulnerability that defines his screen character. In the ‘other’ woman, Kuyilu, played by Radha, why, even in the fire-spitting wife, the shrewish Ponnatha essayed brilliantly by Vadivvukkarasi, Bharathiraja placed that perfect foil to showcase Sivaji’s mellow Malaichamy.

Even in Mann Vasanai, where, on his debut, Pandian plays a cocky, carefree youth, it’s clear he’s rustic and naïve. It is Revathy, again on a debut that steals the show as Muthupechi who navigates the innocence of first love, the pain of separation, and the struggles of a young widow. It is her character that is deeply layered in the film, showing progress and altering storylines. A Revathy starrer again, the 1983 movie Pudhumai Penn pulled all the stops out taking a feminist line, boldly and unapologetically.

In Kadalorra Kavithaigal it is Sathyaraj as Chinnappa Das, the bully, who undergoes the transformation in the story, but everyone who has watched the film knows that it is Jennifer teacher who is the fulcrum, the transformative agent. Again, setting off two completely polar characters against each other, Bharathiraja delivers another version of his romantic storytelling through this love story between two unlikely lovers.

But Bharathiraja also pivoted, later in his career, to fixate on social issues. In the process, he created strong characters again, but as vessels for his ideas on social reform. There can be no better example for this than Vedam Puthithu, arguably the director’s boldest, politically-charged masterpieces. An unapologetic critique of the rigid caste system, Brahminical hegemony, and religious hypocrisy, it uses the character of Sathyaraj as Balu Thevar, and a child to deliver punches that rent the existing fabric of society. Even Alaigal Oivathillai, an ostensible love story, explores the bitter complications of inter-religious love and marriage, in a touching take refreshingly told with debut artists Radha and Karthik, thrown together in young love.

In Karuthamma, the hero, heroine et al take a backseat and the overarching theme of female foeticide drives the film. In Kizahkku Seemaiyle the villain, but also the primary driver of the film, is a family feud that tears apart siblings, with a striking essay by Radikaa.

Bharathiraja’s rich legacy leaves us not only with glorious locales, but also with warm characters, fallible heros, strong heroines, extraordinarily bold storylines, fierce criticisms and deep cultural contexts. He proved that it was possible to run successful movies without alpha heroes, or conforming toxic biases in society. As he leaves the world, he has ensured that his gentle view of love and fierce view of society on celluloid will endure.