- By Tapapriya Dutta
- Fri, 18 Jul 2025 11:19 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Veteran Tamil director and cinematographer Velu Prabhakaran passed away at the age of 68 in the wee hours of Friday (July 18). He took his last breath at a private hospital in Chennai. His relatives confirmed that Prabhakaran was suffering from a prolonged illness. Velu Prabhakaran was in the Intensive Care Unit for the last few days in critical condition. The filmmaker’s mortal remains will be kept for public homage at Valasaravakkam in Chennai from Saturday evening to Sunday afternoon. The cremation will take place on Sunday evening in the presence of close friends and family.
Velu Prabhakaran started his career as a cinematographer. He made his directorial debut with the 1989 film Nalaya Manithan. Since then, he has been part of movies like Oru Iyakkunarin Kadhal Diary, Kadhal Kadhai, Kadavul, Adhisa Manithan, Puratchikkaaran, Asuran, Sivan, Gangs of Madras and Puthiya Aatchi to name a few.
Veteran Tamil Filmmaker the controversial #VeluPrabhakaran (68) passed away in Chennai due to health issues.
— Sreedhar Pillai (@sri50) July 18, 2025
Prabhakaran was known for his socially provocative films such as Nalaya Manithan, Kadavul, Kadhal Kadhai, where he explored themes like atheism, caste & sexuality.#RIP pic.twitter.com/2hS9ICtQg0
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In 2004, Prabhakaran made headlines for much controversial film Kadhal Kadhai, whin featured newcomers Preethi Rangayani and Shirley Das. The movie talked about the caste system and sexuality. The Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC) objected certain scenes and dialogues. But only after a few years, the director agreed to remove objectionable scenes and mute certain dialogues. The film had a video message, where he explained the difficulties he faced over the years. He stated that some parts of the movie were autobiographical.In 2019, he helmed his last film Oru Iyakkunarin Kadhal Diary.
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On the personal front, late filmmaker Velu Prabhakaran was earlier married to actress-director Jayadevi. Several years after his seperation, he again found love and got married at the age of 60 to actress Shirley Das. The actress was the lead of Kadhal Kadhai. The duo tied knot in 2017.
