Veteran Tamil filmmaker Bharathiraja has been hospitalized in Chennai since December 27 due to breathlessness. MGM Healthcare has issued a statement confirming his condition is stable and he is responding well to treatment in the intensive care unit. This hospitalization follows recent reports of him undergoing treatment in Malaysia and comes after the emotional toll of his son's death earlier this year. Doctors have dismissed false rumors of his passing, assuring that he is under close medical observation.