Residents of actor-director Bhagyaraj’s native Vellankovil village hold candlelight procession in his memory

More than 300 residents of Vellankovil, near Gobichettipalayam, took out a silent procession on Saturday (June 27, 2026) to pay homage to actor-director K. Bhagyaraj, who passed away earlier in the day.

The procession was organised by the villagers and Bhagyaraj’s childhood friends to mourn the death of the filmmaker, who was born and brought up in Vellankovil.

Participants assembled near Anna Thidal, where they paid floral tributes to a portrait of Bhagyaraj. Wearing black badges and carrying lighted candles, they began the procession through the village.

The march passed through the main streets of Vellankovil, including the neighbourhood where Bhagyaraj spent his childhood, his ancestral home and the school where he studied. The nearly two-km procession concluded at Anna Thidal, where participants observed one-minute silence in his memory.

Residents said they had gathered to pay their respects to the village’s distinguished son, whose contribution to Tamil cinema had earned him widespread admiration.