Thousands gather to pay their last respects to Balachander

The Tamil film industry plunged into gloom following the death of legendary filmmaker K. Balachander. The industry members and thousands from various walks of life assembled at his residence here Wednesday to pay their last respects to the thespian.

From superstar Rajinikanth to DMK chief M. Karunanidhi, actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth to actors such as Vijay, Vikram, Arjun, Sathyaraj, Sarath Kumar, Khushbu, Prakash Raj, Sripriya, Manorama, Srikanth, Sivakumar, Dhanush, Visu, Mohan, T. Rajendar -- everyone paid their tributes.

KB, as Balachander was fondly called by everybody, breathed his last Tuesday following prolonged illness.

Filmmaker Mahendran urged that Balachander should be cremated with state honours.

Balachander's last rites started at around 2 p.m and his fans accompanied him in the last walk from his residence to his final resting place.