kamal_haasan-balachanderIt’s going to be very unfortunate for Kamal Haasan to not say goodbye to his mentor K. Balachander, who passed away Tuesday in a private hospital in Chennai. The last rites of the filmmaker will be performed today between 2 and 3 pm.

Apparently, Balachander was to be cremated on Thursday, but due to some reasons it has been advanced to Wednesday. Kamal, who was busy with the post-production work of Uttama Villain, boarded a flight to Chennai just a few hours ago from California, and is expected to reach only by tonight. According to sources close to the actor, he will directly pay respects to Balachander’s family.

Balachander launched Kamal Haasan’s career with 1973 film Arangetram. The duo went on act in over 40 films over the years, including hit Hindi film Ek Duuje Ke Liye. KB was also instrumental in launching the career of the biggest superstar of Indian cinema – Rajinikanth. Last night, Rajini after paying respects to his guru said he was like his father. He also said that Balachander never treated him like an actor but as his own son. He concluded his speech by saying there won’t another KB in the cinema world.