Director Bala, whose year 2000 movie 'Sethu' and year 2003 movie 'Pithamagam' ('Shiva Putrudu' in Telugu) are considered classics, reportedly divorced his wife recently at a family court. His wife Muthumalar and him were married for 17 years.

News reports emerging from Chennai say that the couple had been living separately for four years and filed divorce on mutual consent.

Compatibility issues cropped up between the 'Sethu' director and his wife due to their varying lifestyles. "Malar was often seen hanging out with Tamil actor Jayam Ravi's wife Aarti, singer Saindhavi and her friends from Kollywood," it has been reported.

They are parents to Prarthana.

On the professional front, director Bala's last project was Dhruv Vikram's 'Varmaa', which was a remake of Vijay Deverakonda's 'Arjun Reddy'. 'Varmaa' was not released in theatres because its producers were unhappy with the output. They junked the project and the film was released in 2020 directly on OTT.

Bala is now prepping for his upcoming film with actor Suriya.