Tamil film industry mourns Raghuram's death

Tamil film industry personalities Khushbu Sundar and Vedhika Kumar mourned the sudden demise of choreographer R. Raghuram, who breathed his last at his residence here Saturday. He was 64.

A family source confirmed the news of his death to IANS by saying: "I received a call from his help that he had passed away around 1 p.m. at his residence. I'm not sure about the cause of the death."

Raghuram is survived by his wife and two daughters - Suja and Gayathri, who is also a popular actress-cum-choreographer.

He had completed a glorious five decades in the film industry in 2012.

Actress Khushbu Sundar, one of the many disciples of Raghuram, said he was like family.

"(We) lost a great choreographer, a fantastic guru and a wonderful human being Raghu master just a few minutes back. (He was) such a humble soul. RIP Masterji. I have lost my guru in Raghuram master," Khushbu posted on her Twitter page.

"He taught me the finer nuances of dance. Above everything else he was a family. (We have) so many memories. (I) lost the count of how many times we must have spent the night at his place as a gang. Brinda, his daughters and (a) bunch of cousins," she added.

Vedhika, who had recently worked with him for a song from upcoming Tamil period-romance "Kaaviya Thalaivan", said she was heartbroken.

"In shock on hearing the news that Raghuram master is no more! (I) had the privilege of working under him for a song in 'Kaaviya Thalaivan'. Heartbroken," she tweeted.

Other luminaries such as Venkat Prabhu, Lakshmi Rai, Dhayanidhi Azhagiri and Shantanoo Bhagyaraj shared their condolences on the micro-blogging site too.

Known for working with a generation of actors over the years, Raghuram had choreographed over 1,000 songs in several languages.

He had also directed films such as "Vishwanathan Velai Vendum" in Tamil and Bengali film "Bhagyadevatha", starring Mithun Chakraborty.

The last rites of Raghuram, who is survived by his wife and two daughters, will be performed here Sunday.