Superstar
Rajinikanth,
who
is
shocked
over
the
death
of
legendary
filmmaker
K
Balachander,
said
he
always
treated
him
like
his
father
and
not
just
as
his
mentor.
Balachander,
84,
died
at
a
private
hospital
here
Tuesday
following
prolonged
illness
and
age-related
ailments.
Popularly
known
as
KB,
he
was
instrumental
in
launching
the
careers
of
Kamal
Haasan
and
Rajinikanth.
"KB
sir
was
not
just
my
guru.
He
was
my
father
as
well.
He
also
never
saw
me
as
an
actor
and
treated
me
like
his
own
son.
He
was
like
a
god
in
human
form
and
I
feel
lost
in
his
absence," Rajinikanth
said
in
his
statement.
The
legendary
director
who
was
complaining
of
dizziness,
was
recently
admitted
to
the
city
hospital.
He
was
under
treatment
by
a
team
of
doctors.
He
was
later
diagnosed
by
brain
tumour.
Although
his
health
condition
was
improving,
due
to
a
massive
heart
attack
and
failure
of
kidneys
,
he
succumbed
to
death
yesterday,
Dec
23
at
7.02
pm.
Balachander
launched
Rajinikanth
in
1975
in
a
critically
acclaimed
Tamil
film
"Apoorva
Raagangal",
which
revolved
around
a
youth
falling
in
love
with
a
woman
many
years
elder
to
him.
Rajinikanth
and
Balachander
have
worked
together
in
over
10
films.
With
over
100
films
to
his
credit,
KB's
best
films
include
"Aval
Ora
Thodar
Kathai",
"Avargal",
"Varumayin
Niram
Sigappu"
and
"47
Natkal".
The
filmmaker
is
likely
to
be
cremated
Wednesday.
His
body
has
been
kept
at
his
residence
here
for
legions
of
his
fans
to
pay
their
homage.