Kamal Haasan to miss bidding adieu to Balachander

Chennai, Dec 24: Actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan will miss saying a final goodbye to his mentor, veteran filmmaker K. Balachander, who will be cremated here Wednesday afternoon. Balachander died here Tuesday following prolonged illness. He was 84. "We had planned to cremate Balachander on Thursday, but it has now been advanced to today (Wednesday). Between 2 p.m. and 2.50 p.m., he will be cremated at the Besant Nagar crematorium," Balachander's manager told IANS. Kamal, who was busy with the post-production work of his Tamil film "Uttama Villain" in Los Angeles, boarded his flight from California earlier in the day. Hence, he won't be able to pay his homage to the auteur. "Kamal sir is expected to reach Chennai tonight. He will go meet Balachander's family and pay his respects," his manager said. All film-related activities here have been cancelled as a mark of respect to the veteran.