Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam and others pay tribute to director J Mahendran

Tamil veteran filmmaker J Mahendran died earlier today. 80 years old. His son Mahendran, who is also a director, went on his Twitter Tuesday morning and revealed to the world the death of his father. Since then, messages of condolence from celebrities and fans have flooded the Internet. Now, photos of the biggest superstars and celebrities of Tamil movies have been published on the Web, showing their last respects to the recently deceased filmmaker.

One of the first to arrive at the Mahendran Residence was undoubtedly the greatest superstar of the Southern cinema, Rajinikanth. It is said that today Thalaiva owes to the seasoned filmmaker an important part of her celebrity. It's his first directorial project, Mullum Malarum (1978), which put Rajinikanth on the map and gave his career the impetus it needed.

In addition to Thalaiva, Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan also arrived at the Mahendran residence to pay his respects. The director Mani Ratnam, not only known in the south of the country for her remarkable films, but also a name recognized by Bollywood fans, also paid tribute to this veteran filmmaker.

Several other celebrities, including actress Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, visited the Mahendran family and presented their condolences. She also took on her Twitter to express her feelings: "My last respects to #Mahendran sir..u look peaceful … you will never be forgotten … !! You should be proud @johnroshan, sir of your father, and this amazing legacy that he has left behind … his name will always last … legends are never forgotten … #RIPDirMahendran sir … !! "- His tweet read.

Meanwhile, Ilaya Raja and Radikaa Sarathkumar, Cheran Pandian, Bobby Simha, Vijay Sethupathi and others also came to pay homage to J. Mahendran. As stated earlier, the last sacraments of the seasoned filmmaker will take place at 5 pm today.

J Mahendran was admitted earlier last week to the Apollo Hospital in Chennai and put under artificial ventilation because of his critical condition. His son shared health updates with his fans on Twitter. The filmmaker may not be with us anymore, but his work will live in the hearts of moviegoers forever.