Sivaji Ganesan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Sivaji Ganesan's still fromDeiva Magan | |
| Born | Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy (1928-10-01)1 October 1928 |
| Died | 21 July 2001(2001-07-21) (aged 72) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Other names | Nadigar Thilagam Simmakuralon |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1951–1999 |
| Works | Full list |
| Political party | Tamizhaga Munnetra Munnani (1988–1989) |
| Other political affiliations |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | 4, includingRamkumar andPrabhu |
| Parent(s) | Father : Chinnaiya Manrayar Mother : Rajamani Ammal |
| Relatives | Dushyanth Ramkumar (grandson) Vikram Prabhu (grandson) Shivaji Dev (grandson) |
| Awards |
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Villupuram[a] Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001),[4][5] better known by hisstage nameSivaji Ganesan, was an Indian actor and film producer. He was mainly active inTamil cinema and theatre during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ganesan is acknowledged as one of the greatest Indian actors of all time and among the most imitated one by other actors. He was known for his versatility and the variety of roles he depicted on screen,[6] which also gave him the Tamil nicknameNadigar Thilagam (transl. the pride of actors).[7] In a career that spanned close to five decades, he acted in 288 films inTamil,Telugu,Kannada,Malayalam andHindi. Sivaji Ganesan is the only actor in Tamil cinema to have played the lead role in over 250 films.[8][9]
Ganesan was the first Indian actor to win the "Best Actor" award at the firstAfro-Asian Film Festival held inCairo,Egypt in 1960. Many leading South Indian actors have stated that their acting was influenced by Ganesan. In 1997, Ganesan was conferred theDadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest honour for films in India.[10][11] He was also the first Indian actor to be made aChevalier of theOrdre des Arts et des Lettres.[12][13][14][15] In addition, he receivedNational Film Award (Special Jury), fourFilmfare Awards South and threeTamil Nadu State Film Awards.
Ganesan is remembered as an iconic figure of Tamil cinema.[16][17] Upon his death, TheLos Angeles Times described him as "theMarlon Brando of India's film industry".[18][19]
In his career, he mostly paired withK.R. Vijaya,Padmini,Savitri,B. Sarojadevi,P. Bhanumathi and also worked alongside several writers and co-stars who later became Chief Ministers:C.N. Annadurai,M. Karunanidhi,MGR,NTR andJ. Jayalalithaa.
Ganesan was born on 1 October 1928,[20][21][22][4] as the fourth son of Chinnaiya Manrayar and Rajamani Ammal inVillupuram,[1] India in aKallar (Thevar) family.[23] Early in his career, Ganesan acted under the name V. C. Ganesan. Media outlets said that the initial 'V' stood for Villupuram, though one of Ganesan's sons stated that it stands for Vettaithidal, a village from which their family originates.[3] Without his father's consent,[24] Ganesan decided to join a touring stage drama company at the age of seven.[8] At the age of 10, he moved toTiruchirappalli and joined a drama troupe inSangiliyandapuram and began to perform in stage plays.[25] From the drama troupe trainers, he was fortunate enough to learn acting and dancing. He was trained inBharatanatyam,Kathak andManipuri dance forms.
Ganesan exhibited the ability to remember lengthy lines easily. The group favoured Ganesan to play the lead and he would continue to do so. His portrayal ofShivaji I in the stage playShivaji Kanda Hindu Rajyam written byC. N. Annadurai earned him the monicker "Sivaji",[8] which was conferred on him at a public function presided over by social reformerPeriyar. Since then, he has been referred to by the name of "Sivaji".[26]
Ganesan lent his voice toMukkamala Krishna Murthy, a Telugu actor, for the Tamil filmNiraparadhi (1951).[27] He made his acting debut in the 1952Tamil filmParasakthi, which was directed by theKrishnan–Panju duo and co-starred actressPandari Bai.[28] The film became an instant commercial success, running for over 175 days in several theatres, and ran for over 50 days in all the 62 centres it was released, and at the Sri Lanka–based Mailan Theatre, it ran for nearly 40 weeks.[29] Film distributor P. A. Perumal Mudaliar ofNational Pictures, with the patronage ofA. V. Meiyappan ofAVM Productions, bought the film rights ofParasakthi. P.A. Perumal cast Ganesan after being impressed with his performance asNur Jahan in the Sakthi Nadaga Sabha play of the same name.[30] It was he who, in 1950, gave Ganesan a flight ticket to Madras for the screen test forParasakthi.[31] Ganesan had simultaneously shot for the Telugu-Tamil bilingual filmParadesi (titledPoongothai in Tamil), which was supposed to be his actual film to release first,[32][33] but released much later after Perumal requested its co-producerAnjali Devi to letParasakthi release first, and she agreed.[34]
Parasakthi did not begin well for Ganesan. When shooting began and 2000 feet of the film was shot, Meiyappan was dissatisfied with Ganesan's "thin" physique, and wanted him replaced withK. R. Ramasamy. Perumal refused, and Ganesan was retained. Meiyappan was also satisfied with the final results of the film. The initial scenes of Ganesan which he earlier disliked were reshot.[35] Ganesan was paid a monthly salary of₹250 (valued at about US$52.5 in 1952[b]) for acting in the film.[37]The script was written by laterChief Minister of Tamil Nadu,M. Karunanidhi.[26][28][38] Since actors who are well-trained in classical dance can effectively showcase expressions calledNava Rasa on their faces, Ganesan went on to become one of the popular actors in Tamil cinema in the 1950s. His unique voice had a greater appeal. His style of dialogue delivery with a long spell of dialogues—like a poetry recitation with much clarity—earned him critical recognition.
Two factors can be attributed the entry of Ganesan into films: the principal artists in Tamil films during the 1940s and 1950s wereTelugus, whose acting was not matched by their dialogue delivery in Tamil.[39] Secondly, the 1950s saw the growth of the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu, under the leadership ofC. N. Annadurai, andM. Karunanidhi. Their transformation of language skills to films through script writing ensured their instant acceptance.[40]
Andha Naal (1954) was a trendsetter in Tamil cinema because it had no songs[41] and Ganesan played an anti-hero. The film won the president's silver medal the following year. The same year, he co-starred with his competitorM. G. Ramachandran inKoondukkili, where he played the antagonist.[42]
His role in the filmVeerapandiya Kattabomman won him the Best Actor Award at the Afro-Asian Film Festival held in March 1960 atCairo.[26][43] Incidentally, Ganesan was also the first Indian actor to get an award for Best Actor abroad.[44] Often considered to be a landmark film in Tamil cinema,Pasamalar is arguably one of the best films of Sivaji Ganesan and Savitri together. Once again directed by A Bhimsingh, the film has a cult following and rightly so. When it released in 1961, it became a trendsetter of sorts and was a money spinner at the box-office. Post its release, several films based on a similar theme were made, for example,Mullum Malarum.[45] It also won the National Award that year and was remade in several languages.
Uthama Puthiran is the first film to feature Ganesan in dual roles and the first Indian film to have the shots with zoom technique.[46]Sivaji Ganesan has acted in many Tamil movies co-starring with many popular and talented Tamil actresses of his time.[47] He gave many commercial success films such asPalum Pazhamum,Irumbu Thirai,Padikkadha Medhai,Paava Mannippu,Padithal Mattum Podhuma,Aalayamani,Iruvar Ullam,Annai Illam,Aandavan Kattalai,Kappalottiya Thamizhan,Kai Koduttha Dheivam,Puthiya Paravai and his 100th film,Navarathri whereby ganesan acted nine distinct roles in the film. It is arguably one of Sivaji Ganesan's best films in its tribute to the actor.[48]
He had comedic roles in several movies, such asKalyanam Panniyum Brahmachari (1954),Sabaash Meena (1958),Ooty Varai Uravu (1967), andGalatta Kalyanam (1968).
His portrayal ofLord Shiva in the movieThiruvilayadal (1965) won him many accolades.[49][50] Ganesan could strike a balance between commercial cinema, Mythological cinema and experimental cinema. His epical portrayals in films such asThiruvilayaadal,Thiruvarutselvar,Saraswati Sabatham,Thirumal Perumai andThillana Mohanambal won him critical acclaim.[51] He played a variety of roles such as freedom fighters, likeTiruppur Kumaran,Bhagat Singh[26] and epic characters likeKarna,Bharatha,Narada,Appar,Nayanmars andAlwars.[52] Spanning genres like epics to Crime thrillers; from romantic escapades to comic flicks and action flicks, Ganesan has covered it all.
Ganesan played supporting role toRajendra Kumar in theHindi filmDharti in 1970, which was a remake of his 1969 Tamil filmSivandha Mann, in which he played the lead role. In the Hindi version, Ganesan played the role whichMuthuraman had played in the original. Several directors such asKrishnan–Panju,T. R. Sundaram,T. R. Ramanna,A. P. Nagarajan,L. V. Prasad,B. R. Panthulu,T. Prakash Rao,D. Yoganand,A. Bhim Singh,K. Shankar,C. V. Sridhar,A. C. Tirulokchandar,P. Madhavan,K. S. Gopalakrishnan,Muktha V.Srinivasan,C. V. Rajendran, andK. Vijayan directed Ganesan in different roles.[51]Jaggayya offered his voice to Sivaji when his movies were dubbed into Telugu.
In the 1960s and 1970s his films have been well received and he was able to deliver constant hits. Some of his famous hits during this period areVasantha Maligai,Gauravam,Thanga Pathakkam andSathyam.[53] Many of his films inspired remakes inSinhalese. Films such asPilot Premnath andMohana Punnagai were shot inSri Lanka, with Sri Lankan actors such asMalini Fonseka andGeetha Kumarasinghe playing the female lead.[51] In 1979, he appeared in the biggest blockbuster of his career,Thirisoolam his 200th film, an adaptation of theKannada filmShankar Guru in whichRajkumar had played the lead role.
Muthal Mariyathai (1985) won him a Filmfare Award underBest Actor – Tamil category. The 1990s was a period in which Ganesan started enacting matured roles. In 1992, he acted withKamal Haasan in the critically acclaimedThevar Magan, which won him aSpecial Mention Award at the40th National Film Awards.[49] His other films released during this period arePasumpon,Once More,En Aasai Rasave andMannavaru Chinnavaru, where he was cast in prominent roles. He acted withMohanlal in the movieOru Yathramozhi (1997). He worked inPooparika Varugirom, which released as his last film before his death, however the penultimate film he worked in before his death wasPadayappa (1999), starringRajinikanth.[54]
Chinna Ponnusamy Padayatchi is the teacher of theatrical arts who trained Ganesan in his troupe. During an interview with V.S. Srinivasan, Ganesan said: "Theatre has taught me everything. My teacher (Chinna Ponnuswamy Padayachi of Chidambaram) taught meBharatnatyam,acting, body movements & practically everything. Padayachi, was himself an outstanding stage actor and I learnt in an atmosphere that was reminiscent of an ashram school."[55]
Sivaji Ganesan has made many financial contributions during natural disasters and for the educational development. In 1960,K. Kamaraj introduced theMidday Meal Scheme for which Sivaji Ganesan donated one lakh rupees. Sivaji Ganesan presented an 80 gram gold chain toP. Kakkan, who was living in poverty, and also he donated the entire proceeds from the play 'Thanga Padhakkam' which is held at the Salem Nehru Auditorium.[56] He also donated a large amount of money during theIndo-Pakistani War of 1965. Sivaji Ganesan bought the place where the freedom fighterVeerapandiya Kattabomman was executed inKayatharu and placed a statue ofVeerapandiya Kattabomman at his expense which is still a monument even today.[56][57] He has donated elephants to many temples like theVenkateswara Temple inTirupati and theBrihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur.[58]
Ganesan started his political career as an activist of theDravidar Kazhagam.[59] Ganesan joined theDravida Munnetra Kazhagam after it was founded byC. N. Annadurai in 1949.[60] Until 1956, Ganesan was a staunch supporter of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).[61] In the 1950s, however, Sivaji Ganesan was criticized for going "against the stated values of rationalism" during a visit to Tirupathi. In 1956 he left the DMK.[62]
Due to his popularity, he was requested to be part of theIndian National Congress Tamil Nadu. His respect forKamaraj made him support Congress.
From 1964, Ganesan became a strong supporter of theIndian National Congress. He embraced Congress leaderKamarajar's leadership. He was made theRajya Sabha Member of Parliament by then Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi's death in 1984 also brought Ganesan's political career to an end.[63]
After the death ofAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) founder andChief Minister of Tamil NaduM. G. Ramachandran in 1987,[64][60] AIADMK broke into two, one headed by his wifeV. N. Janaki Ramachandran and other by another Tamil movie starJ. Jayalalithaa.[65]Election Commission of India refused to accept either of them as the original AIADMK.[65] Tamil Nadu Congress decided to ally with only United AIADMK.[66] This move was opposed by Sivaji Ganesan and hence he left the party along with his supporters to form the new partyThamizhaga Munnetra Munnani[66] on 10 February 1988.[67] To popularise the party Ganesan produce a movie titledEn Thamizh En Makkal (My Tamil language and my people).[68] At the time the party was created it was considered to be pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.[69] The party opposed the presence ofIndian Peace Keeping Force inSri Lanka stating that the force was trying to wipe out the LTTE and its leaderV. Prabhakaran.[70] The party also urged the Government of India to hold talks with the LTTE without any pre- condition.[70] In the 1989 elections, his party lost all of its seats in favor ofV. N. Janaki Ramachandran. Sivaji himself was defeated by DMK candidateDurai Chandrasekaran in the Tiruvayaru seat by a difference of 10,643 votes.[71]
He later joined theJanata Dal underVP Singh and rose through the ranks to become the party's state president, but his political career came to an end in 1993.[71]
| S.No | Party's Leader | Party's | Year's Active |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Periyar E. V. Ramasamy | Dravidar Kazhagam | (1946–1949) |
| 2 | C. N. Annadurai | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | (1949–1956) |
| - | None | Independent politician | (1956-1961) |
| 3 | E. V. K. Sampath | Tamil National Party | (1961–1964) |
| 4 | Kamarajar/Jawaharlal Nehru/Gulzarilal Nanda/Lal Bahadur Shastri/Indira Gandhi/Rajiv Gandhi | Indian National Congress | (1964–1969) & (1977–1988) |
| 5 | Kamarajar | Congress (O) | (1969–1975) |
| 6 | Indira Gandhi | Congress (R) | (1975–1977) |
| 7 | Sivaji Ganesan | Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani | (1988–1989) |
| 8 | V. P. Singh | Janata Dal | (1989–1993) |
Ganesan was the fourth son of his family. He had three brothers and one sister.[72] Ganesan married Kamala on 1 May 1952[73] and had four children.[72] His younger sonPrabhu is a notable Tamil actor.[74] Ganesan established a film production company in the late 1950s, now calledSivaji Productions, which is now being looked after by his elder sonRamkumar.[75] He has two daughters Shanthi and Thenmozhi. Two of his grandsons namelyVikram Prabhu andDushyant Ramkumar have also appeared in films, with Ramkumar's son Dushyanth Ramkumar having the stage name of Junior Sivaji. Moreover, Prabhu's son Vikram Prabhu debuted in the critically acclaimed filmKumki in 2012.
Suffering from respiratory problems, Ganesan was admitted to theApollo Hospital inChennai on 1 July 2001.[8] He also had been suffering from a prolonged heart ailment for about 10 years.[76] He died at 7:45 pm (IST) on 21 July 2001 at the age of 72 just three months prior to his 73rd birthday for which he had special plans. A documentaryParasakthi Muthal Padayappa Varai was made to commemorate Sivaji Ganesan's legacy. He was given aState funeral.[77] His funeral the next day was telecast live onSun TV and was attended by thousands of viewers, politicians and personalities from the South Indian film fraternity.[78] His eldest sonRamkumar Ganesan, performed his last rites at the Besant Nagar Crematorium, Chennai.[79]
When PresidentGamal Abdel Nasser ofEgypt visited India, Sivaji Ganesan was the only individual granted permission by the then-Indian Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru, to host a party for Nasser. Nasser was given a number of valuable mementos depicting the civilisation and culture of South India.[80] Sivaji Ganesan was the first artist from India to visit the United States in a cultural exchange programme by the US government. In 1962, Ganesan was invited by the then-US PresidentJohn F. Kennedy, where he took the role of India's cultural ambassador. During his visit there, he was honoured by being made the honorary mayor ofNiagara Falls, New York, for one day and was presented thegolden key to the city. The only other Indian who has had this honour before Ganesan was Jawaharlal Nehru. Upon returning to India from both Egypt and the US, massive crowds of fans were present at Madras Airport to celebrate his arrival. On 22 March 1976, he travelled toMauritius on an invitation from Prime Minister Ramagoolam and took part in their independence day celebrations and stayed as their government guest for four days.[80]
During his visit to the United States in June 1995, he visitedColumbus, Ohio. Participating in the dinner hosted to honour Ganesan, the mayor of the city,Greg Lashutka honoured him by announcing him as an honorary citizen of Columbus. On the same occasion, the mayor ofMount Vernon read out and gave him a special welcome citation. The Columbus Tamil Sangam was formulated on that day and Ganesan was made the honorary president of that association.[80]
Although Sivaji appeared less in leading roles after the 1980s, his supporting roles were received positively, as inThevar Magan, which won him the National Awards Jury's Special Jury award in 1993. Sivaji, incidentally, declined the award.[81]
Sivaji Ganesan is considered one of the best Indian actors of all time.[8] He was also acknowledged as a consummate actor and one of the most imitated ones. He was praised for his body language and his resounding voice and dialogue delivery. Ganesan is known for his versatility and has acted as a blind man inPalum Pazhamum, a physically handicapped person inBhaaga Pirivinai, enacting Nine numbers of totally different personas from various social strata and the corresponding body language (gait, voice, facial expression, etc.) in " Navarathiri", thereby becoming probably the first-time in Indian cinema history as an actor reprising Nine roles in a single film and in extension, inspiring subsequent films (at least) in Tamil like "Navarathinam" (the great MGR – starred), "Dasavatharam" (featuring Kamal Haasan), a man with a scared face as inDeiva Magan, a murderer inPudhiya Paravai, or a traitor as inAndha Naal, the first movie that had no songs at all.[40][41]
On 1 October 2021,Google commemorated Ganesan's 93rd birth anniversary with aGoogle Doodle on their Indian homepage.[82][83]
| Year | Award | Honouring body | Outcome | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Won | [51][84] | ||
1984 | Won | [51][84] | ||
1995 | Won | [10][51][26][85] |
| Year | Award | Honouring body | Outcome | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1960 | Best Actor atAfro-Asian Film Festival | Won | [26][51][84] |
| Year | Award | Honouring body | Outcome | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1992 | Won | [49] | ||
1996 | Honor for his Contributions to Indian Cinema | Won | [26][51][84] |
| Year | Award | Honouring body | Outcome | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1972 | Won | [86] | ||
1973 | Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award | Won | [86] | |
1985 | Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award | Won | [87] | |
1985 | Won | [88] |
| Year | Award | Honouring body | Outcome | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1969 | Deiva Magan | Won | ||
1970 | Won | |||
1989 | MGR Award | Won |
| Year | Award | Honouring body | Outcome | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1986 | Won | |||
1962 | Won | |||
1998 | Won | [89] |
Pondicherry (Puducherry) was the first union territory to erect a statue of Sivaji Ganesan in honor of his acting skills and his huge fan base in the state and it was unveiled by the then Puducherry Chief MinisterN. Rangasamy.[90] A statue of Ganesan was erected on Kamarajar Road inChennai, Tamil Nadu to honour the actor and was unveiled by the then Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterM. Karunanidhi in 2006.[38][80][91]
In 2017, amemorial built by thePublic Works Department at a cost of₹ 28 million was opened in Chennai.[92] Located inAdyar, a southern neighbourhood of the city, it is built in theTamil style of architecture, adorned with domes, and houses a statue of the actor, which was previously erected on theMarina Beach in 2006.[93][94]
Media related toSivaji Ganesan at Wikimedia Commons
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