Kamal Haasan pays tributes to mentor Balachander

 Paying rich tributes to his mentor K Balachander, actor Kamal Haasan on Wednesday said no other filmmaker could equal the veteran director.

The Vishwaroopam star, who was abroad for film work and could not make it to the funeral of Balachander last week, visited the bereaved family here on Wednesday. Paying rich tributes to Balachander, Haasan said the director had 'donated' talent to Tamil cinema, in an apparent reference to more than 60 actors, including himself and Rajnikant, he had introduced.

"He had donated talent to Tamil cinema. There is no other director who is equal to him," he told reporters after his meeting with Balachander's family. 84-year-old Balachander, a recipient of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award, died here on December 23 after prolonged illness.