Suriya-Karthi’s sister Brindha Sivakumar pays musical tribute to director Bharathiraja: ‘He would tear up when…’

Days after the demise of veteran filmmaker Bharathiraja, playback singer and voice artist Brindha Sivakumar, sister of Suriya and Karthi and daughter of Sivakumar, paid a musical tribute. The 16 Vayathinile filmmaker passed away due to an age-related ailment last Wednesday.

Brindha shared a video of herself singing ‘Poraale Ponnuthaayi’ from Bharathiraja’s Karuthamma. She captioned the video, “A heartfelt dedication to BharathiRaja uncle! We lived in the same neighbourhood, and when I sang this song in my school days, Uncle teared up and asked if I could sing for him whenever he felt like hearing this song! Uncle, this song is for you! What a great creator, trendsetter, and someone who introduced such great talents! Uncle, you have created movies for generations to learn from. You live on with your creations for eternity, Uncle!” (sic)

‘Poraale Ponnuthayi’ is composed by AR Rahman, has vocals by Swarnalatha, and has lyrics by Vairamuthu. Both Swarnalatha and Vairamuthu won national awards for their work on the song, along with Bharathiraja, who won it for Karuthamma. The singer and lyricist also bagged Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, while the auteur received the award for best film portraying women in a good light.

Bharathiraja’s health had been deteriorating ever since his son Manoj passed away due to a cardiac arrest at the mere age of 48, back in March 2025. He made his directorial debut with 16 Vayathinilein 1977. In his five-decade-long career, the veteran was known for bringing Tamil cinema rooted, rustic and realistic stories, which were mostly set in villages. Popularly known as ‘Iyakkunar Immayam’, Bharathiraja’s popular directorials include Kizhake Pogum Rail, Sigappu Rojakkal, Alaigal Oivathillai, Kaadhal Oviyamand Mudhal Mariyathaiamong others. His most recent work as a director was a segment from Modern Love Chennai (2023), titled Paravai Kootil Vaazhum Maangal.