Director Bala who is known for giving many hit films got divorced on March 5 at a family court with his wife Muthumalar after 17 years of togetherness. Reports suggest that they were living separately for four years and filed divorce on mutual consent.

Reportedly, differences cropped up between director Bala and Malar several years ago. While Bala was concentrating on his work, Malar was often seen hanging out with Jayam Ravi's wife Aarti, singer Saindhavi and her friends from the industry.

Eventually, director Bala and Malar decided to file for divorce. On March 5, their divorce came through at a family court. Director Bala and Muthumalar got married in a traditional ceremony on July 5, 2004, in Madurai. They are parents to Prarthana.

On the professional front, director Bala's last project was Dhruv Vikram's Varma. He is now prepping for his upcoming film with actor Suriya. Suriya took to his Twitter account to make this official by posting a picture with Bala