I woke up to the news that Singeetham Srinivasa Rao had died, I had mixed feelings: the sadness that a beloved filmmaker had passed, and also the happiness that he died "as a filmmaker". Singeetham Srinivasa Rao died in the best way a director can die. He made a movie, a joyful and quirky and inventive movie -- and then he died. Not many directors get to die this way. By the time they hit their 90s, most directors are well past their best work, well past even working. They are recalling their glory days or they lie forgotten. But not Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, who I first met in 2011. I said I was a big fan. He smiled and said mischievously, “That’s because you haven’t seen my bad movies.” He was marvellously aware that some films will work, some films won't, and you just have to strap on your boots and keep marching on. We met again in 2014, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of his first Tamil film, ‘Dikkatra Parvathi’, based on Rajaji’s story. (This was the first time in the Indian film industry that a film was procured by a state – though MGR wasn’t exactly looking at it as a work of art. He had in mind other, more practical uses – as a propaganda film to further the cause of prohibition.) And we met before the release of 'Sing Geetham'. I could see that he was frail. Nag Ashwin was by his side, like a son helping a father. If there's a lesson to take away from this lovely soul, it's his can-do spirit, the fact that mental age is more important than physical age. Even as he drew his last breaths, I like think he was cracking jokes in his head. Farewell, sir. Thank you for the memories.