Source The Hindu
CHENNAI — Following the sudden demise of legendary Tamil filmmaker and actor K. Bhagyaraj, veteran actress Radikaa Sarathkumar has launched a fierce critique against media houses and onlookers, calling for strict government intervention and legally binding protocols to protect the privacy of grieving families.
Bhagyaraj, widely celebrated as the “Master of Screenplay,” passed away in Chennai on June 27, 2026, at the age of 73 after suffering a massive cardiac arrest. While the state government accorded him full military honors at his final rites on Sunday, the solemnity of the occasion was severely marred by chaotic scenes outside his residence.
Grief Turned into a “Circus”
Radikaa, a close friend of the Bhagyaraj family for over 50 years, was among the first to arrive at his Nungambakkam residence to offer support. However, what should have been a quiet farewell quickly deteriorated as a swarm of media cameras, paparazzi, and eager onlookers flooded the premises, mobbing the ambulance and creating a stampede-like environment.
Taking to her social media handles on Monday, a visibly distraught Radikaa shared unseen photographs with the late director, alongside a scathing statement condemning the insensitive coverage.
“A place where all needed to digress and mourn in silence turned into a circus for all who came to pay their respects,” Radikaa wrote on X. “Where and when do we change, or rather changed, to this callousness?”
Videos circulating online show Radikaa directly confronting crowd members and photographers who were zooming in on the tearful faces of Bhagyaraj’s wife, Poornima, and his son, Shanthanu.
On the day the body arrived, Radikaa had physically pleaded with media crews to step back so the family could bring the mortal remains inside. “Cinema is our occupation, but we are also humans at the end of the day,” she told the reporters on camera. “If you want drama for the sake of TRP ratings, I will deliver that through films. Please, give us some privacy.”
Call for Structural Reform and “Restraining Orders”
In her public address, the actress escalated the issue beyond a simple plea for manners, explicitly tagging Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, the South Indian Artistes’ Association (Nadigar Sangam), the Film Producers Council, and the Press Council of India. She demanded that legal boundaries be drawn up urgently.
“The government and industry need to sit and chart protocols and collective management, and give all dignity to the departed soul,” she asserted. In subsequent posts, she advocated for “restraining orders” to keep paparazzi entirely away from funeral environments, adding:
“Funeral paparazzi and grief onlookers should be booked! This is so sad!!! Zooming in on tears and clicking selfies at a funeral home!!! Heights… At some point, compassion must be greater than content.”
Solidarity from the Fraternity
Radikaa is not alone in her outrage. Acclaimed actress Suhasini Maniratnam was also seen aggressively intervening during the funeral procession, physically pushing away cameras that were poking into the hearse van to record the family’s raw moments of grief. Other major industry figures, including Parthiban, echoed these concerns, stating that the invasive digital chase for instant online traffic is eroding basic Tamil cultural values and human empathy.
Despite the media frenzy, prominent leaders and actors—including Chief Minister Vijay, Rajinikanth, and Kamal Haasan—made their way through the crowds to pay their final floral tributes to the screenplay maestro before his cremation at the Besant Nagar electric crematorium.
