K. Bhagyaraj’s demise has prompted a lot of warm memories of his glorious filmography. Among the most renowned of episodes is his collaboration with Bharathiraja to make ‘Oru Kaidhiyin Diary.’ Bhagyaraj penned the story and screenplay while Bharathiraja directed the film in his own style, turning it into one of the biggest hits of 1985. The exceptional pairing of two legends made it clear that a good narrative can stand out despite a different approach to it.

Bhagyaraj gave Bharathiraja complete creative freedom for ‘Oru Kaidhiyin Diary’

It is said that when Bhagyaraj gave the script to Bharathiraja, he told him that while it was his story, he could change anything that suited his way of making films. As stated by Asianet, Bharathiraja took advantage of that and directed the movie “Oru Kaidhiyin Diary” in his unique way. The lead roles were played by Kamal Haasan, who played dual roles along with Revathi, Radha, and Janagaraj. The movie became a hit among people and became a blockbuster movie.

Bhagyaraj later directed the Hindi remake with Amitabh Bachchan

After the Tamil version’s success, Bhagyaraj decided to remake the story in Hindi as ‘Aakhree Raasta’ with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead. Before the shoot commenced, Bhagyaraj is said to have explained to Amitabh Bachchan that the Hindi version would carry his signature style, unlike the Tamil film, which was directed by Bharathiraja in his own manner. Amitabh Bachchan agreed with the approach, giving Bhagyaraj complete freedom. There were many alterations made to the screenplay of the Hindi movie, some of which were new emotional sequences and also a different ending, ensuring that the movie was different from the original Tamil film.

Two directors, one story, and two blockbusters

‘Aakhree Raasta’, released in 1986, too turned out to be an extremely successful movie and added to the already established stardom of Amitabh Bachchan. This is one of the very few instances in Indian movies where the same story was filmed by two renowned directors in two different languages, and both the versions turned out to be successful movies.