'I pay homage to your memory.' Ajay Devgn mourns demise of legendary footballer Tulsidas Balram

Legendary footballer Tulsidas Balaram passed away on Thursday (February 16) in Kolkata.

Hours after the news broke, Bollywood superstar Ajay Devgn took to Twitter to mourn the sudden demise of the sports star.

In his tweet, he also mentioned his upcoming movie 'Maidaan', a biopic on Indian national football team coach and manager Syed Abdul Rahim, which has been in the works for some time now. Devgn will play the role of Rahim, known as the architect of Indian football. The movie is expected to be released on June 23, 2023. It was earlier slated to hit the theatres on June 3, 2022, but was delayed in the post-production stage.


Alongside a picture of Balaram, the actor wrote, "RIP Balaram Sir. Team Maidaan and I pay homage to your memory. Shanti."


Former India forward Balaram was a prominent member of the golden generation of Indian football in the 1950 and 1960s.

All India Football Federation (AIFF) Secretary General Shaji Prabhakaran also paid an emotional tribute to Balaram on Twitter.

"The entire Indian Football fraternity is shattered and heartbroken by the passing away of Tulsidas Balaram. My condolences to his family. May his soul rest in peace. My salute to the legend Balaram for his towering contributions to #IndianFootball We will miss him," he wrote.


As a mark of respect for Balaram, who played a huge role behind India's historic gold medal triumph in the 1962 Asian Games and several other memorable victories at the international level, the AIFF announced a three-day mourning period. While the federation will fly its flag at half-mast during this period, a one-minute silence will be observed before the start of all competitive matches in India.


With this, Indian Football has now lost one of the few remaining members of the 1962 Asian Games Indian team, who took the continent by storm by defeating South Korea 2-1 in the final played at Jakarta.

Balaram played 36 matches for the nation, scoring 10 goals in the process before his career came to an abrupt end because of illness.

He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1962. After retiring from active football, he remained involved in the game, serving as a National Selector and Talent Spotter for the AIFF.

Born on October 4, 1937, Balaram started his career in Hyderabad, then travelled to Kolkata in 1957 and joined East Bengal. For the next five seasons, he was the darling of the crowd, one of the biggest stars in Indian football. In 1963, he joined the Indian Railways. The same year, the curtain abruptly ended his roaring career.