Sivaji Ganesan
|
|
Sijavi_Ganesan_in_Thayaipola_Pillai_Noolaipola_Selai.jpg
Sivaji Ganesan (October 1, 1927 - July 21, 2001) was a famous Indian actor and politician. His real name was Villupuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan.
| Contents |
Biography
Ganesan was born in Sirkali, South Arcot district, Tamil Nadu, India. His parents were P. Chinniah Mandraayer and Rajamani Ammal.
The name 'Sivaji' was given to him by Thanthai Periyar after watching his excellent stage performance as Emperor Shivaji. He is also known as Nadikar thilagam, Nadippu chakravarthy (loosely translated "Emperor among Actors").
Film career
At the age of 9, Ganesan was very interested in stage plays that he ran away from home. His mother helped him get into a famous drama troupe.
Ganesan's first film was Parasakthi in the year 1952. He has acted in about 300 movies, including nine Telugu movies, one Malayalam movie and two Hindi movies.
Some of his most famous films are:
- Poongothai/Pardesi
- Pempudu Koduku
- Manohara
- Kalvanin Kadhali
- Tenali Raman
- Rangoon Radha
- Makkali Petra Maharasi
- Maragatham
- Motor Sunderam Pillai
- Pasumponn
- Thiruvilayaadal
- Thiruvarutchelvar
- Veerapaandiya Kattabomman
- Kappalotiya Thamizhan
- Karnan
- Navarathiri
- Thillana Mohanaambhal
- Mudal Mariyadai
He was known for his acting qualities such as aptness in applying make-up, physical fitness, and variety in acting and delivery of dialogue.
In 1962, Ganesan toured the U.S.A, where he was given the honour of being the mayor of Niagara City for one day. He along with the former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru were the only two Indians to be honoured this way.
The South Indian Film Artistes' Association President Vijaykanth declared that October 1, the birth day of Ganesan, would be observed as Actors' Day in Kollywood.
Family life
Ganesan was married to Kamala (known also as Kamalammal). His two sons, Ramkumar and Prabhu carry on their father's legacy in filmmaking and acting. His two daughters are Shanthi and Thenmozhi.
Awards
- Best Actor Award, Afro-Asian Film Festival, Cairo, Egypt 1960
- Padma Shri Title, 1966
- Padma Vibhushan Title, 1984
- Chevalier dans ordre des Arts et Lettres' (Knight of Arts and Letters), 1994
- Dadasaheb Phalke Award, 1996
Political career
Until 1955, Ganesan was a staunch sympathiser of theD.M.K. party. In 1961, he become a strong supporter of the Indian National Congress. In 1982, Indira Gandhi made him a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. After 1987, he came out of Congress and floated his own political party (Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani). He became president of Tamil Nadu faction of Janata Dal in 1989. His political career was rather unsuccessful unlike his higly successful acting career.
Death
Suffering from respiratory problems, Ganesan was admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Madras on July 12, 2001. He also had been suffering from a prolonged heart ailment for about 10 years.
He died at Apollo Hospital at 7:45pm (IST) on July 21, 2001. He was 74.
Miscellaneous
Ganesan erected the statue of Kattabomman at Kayatharu and donated money for the erection of Shivaji Maharaj statue at Mumbai.
External links
- Profile of Sivaji Ganesan from Nilacharal (http://www.nilacharal.com/enter/celeb/sivaji.html)
- IMDb entry for Sivaji Ganesan (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0304262/)
- Tamil Film Actor Sivaji Ganesan Dead (http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jul/21siv.htm) at Rediff.com
- Ganesan filmography with pictures (http://www.chennaionline.com/events/news/sivajifilm.asp)ta:சிவாஜி கணேசன்