His plays, movies and films gazed upon the dreams and nightmares of the middle rung of society with an honest, unsparing and sometimes caustic eye. The veteran of the Tamil stage, cinema and television was an astute chronicler of middle class concerns and values. K Balachander, who died at the age of 84 in Chennai on Tuesday after battling a series of aliments, was the unlikeliest of mavericks. Listen: The SP Balasubrahmanyam song released posthumously for the Rajinikanth-starrer ‘Annaatthe’.As the prelude to Lakhimpur Kheri shows, the BJP now speaks the explicit language of violence.Has left-wing extremism declined in Modi years? Yes, but it declined more in Manmohan Singh’s tenure.BJP leader’s relative was freed in Mumbai drugs case, claims NCP’s Nawab Malik.
