Viluppuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan Manrayar[2] (Tamil: விழுப்புரம் சின்னையாபிள்ளை கணேசன் மன்றாயர்), also popularly known as Sivaji Ganesan (Tamil: சிவாஜி கணேசன்) (1 October 1927 - 21 July 2001),[3] was a popular Indian stage and film actor active during the latter half of the 20th century.[4] He was regarded as one of the most respected film actors in India.[5] He is well known for his versatility and acting skills with numerous roles depicted on screen.[6] He progressed from a stage actor since his childhood to the filmdom with such an authority that the Tamil cinema considered as the golden era.
Ganesan was the first South Indian film actor to win a best actor award in an international film festival, the Afro-Asian Film Festival held in Cairo, Egypt in 1959. Many leading South Indian film actors have stated that their acting was influenced by Ganesan.[7][8][9] He was also the first Indian actor to be made a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.[10]
Ganesan is remembered as the iconic figure of Tamil cinema.[11][12] He is referred to as 'The Marlon Brando of South Indian Cinema'.[13][14] During end of his career, Ganesan was conferred the highest and the most prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his contribution to Indian cinema in 1997.[15][16] In spite of his celebrated film career, his short stint in politics became a futile attempt.[17]Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 Film career
2.1 Early career: 1952-1959
2.2 Donning versatile roles: 1960-1979
2.3 Matured roles: 1980-1992
3 Political career
4 Family
5 Death
6 Acclaim and criticism
7 Popularity
8 Awards and honours
8.1 International awards
8.2 Indian awards
8.2.1 National film awards
8.2.2 Filmfare awards
8.2.3 Other honours
8.3 Posthumous honours
9 Notable filmography
10 References
11 Further Reading
12 External links
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Early life
Ganesan was born on October 1, 1927[1] to Chinnaiya Manrayar and Rajamani in a Tamil middle-class Kallar family in Villupuram. His ancestors were from a village called Surakottai in Thanjavur District.[18] His father was arrested on the day in which Ganesan was born for taking part in an anti-British campaign in Viluppuram.[2][19] Ganesan's inspiration for acting was inborn and when he got a chance to act on stage for a touring drama company he utilized it without his father's consent at the age of seven. At the age of 10, he moved to Tiruchirappalli and joined a drama troupe in Sangiliyandapuram and began to perform in stage plays.[20] From the drama troupe trainers he was lucky enough to learn acting and dancing skills. He was trained in Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Manipuri. Ganesan was an intellectual boy who could remember lengthy lines easily and could present it before the audience brilliantly with perfection which made him hero of the troupe in the long run. His outstanding portrayal of the character of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the stage play "Shivaji Kanda Hindu Rajyam" earned him the title "Sivaji" which was conferred on him at a public function presided over by E. V. Ramasamy, a social reformer. Since then, he was referred by the name "Sivaji".[15][21]
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Film career
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Early career: 1952-1959
Two factors can be attributed the entry of Ganesan into films: The principal artists in Tamil films during the 1940s and 1950s were Telugus, whose acting was not matched by their dialogue delivery in Tamil. In fact, Sivaji Ganesan himself lent his voice to Mukkammala Krishnamurthy, a Telugu actor, for a Tamil film, Niraparathi, before the making of Parasakthi, and the film was well-received by the Tamil audience and secondly, the 1950s saw the growth of the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu, under the leadership of C. N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi. Their transformation of language skills to films through script writing, ensured their instant acceptance.[17] Gansesan's entry in to films at this stage of popularity was easy and inevitable and he could establish himself in a better position. Ganesan made his acting debut in the 1952 Tamil film Parasakthi, co-starring actress Pandari Bai.[22] The script for the film was written by the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi.[22][21][23] Owing to the fact that, the actors who are well trained in classical dance could effectively showcase different expressions called "Nava Ras" on their face, Ganesan went on to become one of the popular actors in Tamil cinema in the 1950s itself. His unique voice had a greater appeal. He adopted his own style of dialogue delivery with a long spell of dialogues like a poetry recitation with much clarity earned him critical recognition.
Andha Naal released in 1954 was a trendsetter in Tamil cinema that had no songs, saw Ganesan playing a anti-hero. The film won the President's silver medal in the following year. The same year he co-starred with his rival M. G. Ramachandran in Koondukkili in which he played the antagonist.[24] He has worked with many actresses, including Bhanumathi Ramakrishna, Pandaribai, Savithri, Padmini, Devika, B. Sarojadevi, K. R. Vijaya, Vanisri and J. Jayalalitha of his time. He also co-starred with other actors such as Gemini Ganesan, Muthuraman, M. R. Radha and S. V. Ranga Rao in numerous films in which he played the main lead.
His role in the film Veerapaandiya Kattabomman won him the Best Actor Award at the Afro-Asian Film Festival held in March 1960 at Cairo.[25][21] Incidentally, Ganesan was also the first Indian actor to get an award for Best Actor abroad.[26]
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Donning versatile roles: 1960-1979
In a career spanning 5 decades, Ganesan has performed a variety of characters. The portrayal of Lord Shiva in the movie Thiruvilayaadal won him lot of accolades.[27] In the film Navarathiri (1964), Ganesan played nine different roles that represented the nine emotional states of a person.[3] Sanjeev Kumar and Akkineni Nageswara Rao were inspired by this film and reprised the nine roles in Naya Din Nayi Raat in 1974 and Navarathri in 1966 respectively.[21] Ganesan could strike a balance between commercial cinema, Mythological cinema and experimental cinema. His epical portrayals in films like Thiruvilayaadal, Thiruvarutselvar, Thirumal Perumai, Karnan, Thillana Mohanaambal and Raja Rishi won him critical acclaim.[28] He played a variety of roles such as freedom fighters like V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, Vanchinathan, Tiruppur Kumaran, Bhagat Singh[21] and epic characters like Karna, Bharatha, Narada, Appar and Alwars.[21] Spanning genres like epics to Crime thrillers; from romantic escapades to comic flicks and action flicks, Ganesan has spanned it all. He also played supporting role to Rajendra Kumar in the Hindi film Dharti in 1970 which was a remake of his film Sivanddamann, in which he played the lead role. In the Hindi version, Ganesan played the role which Muthuraman had essayed in the original. Several directors like Krishnan-Panju, T. R. Sundaram, L. V. Prasad, B. R. Panthulu, T. Prakash Rao, A. Bhim Singh, K. Shankar, A. P. Nagarajan, A. C. Tirulokchandar, C. V. Sridhar, P. Madhavan, K. S. Gopalakrishnan and K. Vijayan directed Ganesan in different roles.[28]
Though he accumulated awards throughout the 1950s and 1960s, it was in 1972 that Ganesan delivered his first blockbuster Vasantha Maligai.[29] Other films like Gauravam, Raja Raja Chozhan, Thri Soolam, Thankappathakkam and Sathyam, released during this period were highly successful. [30] Many of his films were inspired and remade in Sinhalese. Films like Pilot Premnath and Mohana Punnagai were shot in Sri Lanka with Srilankan actors such as Malini Fonseka and Geetha Kumarasinghe playing the female lead.[28] In 1979, he appeared in his second and final all-time blockbuster Thirisoolam, adapted from the Kannada film Shankar Guru in which Dr. Rajkumar had played the lead role.
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Matured roles: 1980-1992
The 1980s was a period in which Ganesan started enacting more matured roles. But still films like Rishi Moolam, Yamanukku Yaman, Chiranjeevi had Ganesan portraying lead roles. Muthal Mariyathai (1985) won him a Filmfare Award and Tamil Nadu State film Award under Best Actor category. His notable films roles were Veerapaandiyan, Jalli Kattu, Pudhiya Vaanam, Thevar Magan, Pasumpon, En Aasai Raasaave and Once More where he was cast in prominent roles. His last film before his death was Padayappa in 1999. His last film released was Poopparikka Varugirom.
Apart from his numerous roles as a single star on screen, Ganesan has acted in supporting roles with many leading actors from different eras like Gemini Ganesan, Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, krishna, Krishnam Raju, Sathyaraj, Vijayakanth, Prabhu Ganesan, Vishnuvardhan, K. Bhagyaraj, Mohan, Karthik Muthuraman, Mohanlal, Arjun Sarja, Joseph Vijay and Abbas.
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Political career
Ganesan with M. G. Ramachandran at the Annai Illam
Until 1955, Ganesan was a staunch sympathizer of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. In 1961, he become a strong supporter of the Indian National Congress. Due to his popularity and his rival MGR's success in politics Ganesan entered politics and had to face big setback as he lost consecutive elections. But due to his proximity with the then prime minister Indira Gandhi he was made the member of Rajya Sabha in 1983. Indira Gandhi's death in 1984 also brought Ganesan's political career to an end.[31] In 1982, Indira Gandhi made him a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. After 1987, he left Congress and floated his own political party (Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani). He became the president of the Tamil Nadu faction of the Janata Dal in 1989. Unlike his successful acting career, his political career was rather unsuccessful.[17]
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Family
Ganesan was the second son of his family. He had two brothers. Ganesan married Kamala in 1952 and had four children.[32] His younger son Prabhu is a notable Tamil actor. Ganesan established a film production company in the late 1950s, (now called as) Sivaji Productions, which is now being looked after by his eldest son Ramkumar.
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Death
Suffering from respiratory problems, Ganesan was admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Chennai on July 21, 2001. He also had been suffering from a prolonged heart ailment for about 10 years.[33] He died at 7:45pm (IST) on July 21, 2001 at the age of 73. A documentary, Parasakthi Muthal Padayappa Varai was made to commemorate Sivaji Ganesan's legacy. His funeral was attended by thousands of viewers, politicians and personalities from the South Indian film fraternity.[34]
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Acclaim and criticism
Ganesan was considered to be one of the finest method actors in India in his lifetime. He was also acknowledged as a consummate actor and vastly imitated actor. He was praised for his body language and his resounding voice and over-drawn dialogue delivery. However, as far as the masses were concerned, Tamil cinema has not seen finer acting or stirring performances. Ganesan took on roles which most other actors would have refused without any hesitation. But he accepted to play roles like a blind man, a physically handicapped person in Bhaagapirivinai, or a man with a scarred face as in Deiva Magan or a murderer in Puthiya Paravai, or a traitor as in Andha Naal which film had no songs at all. However there has been constant criticism that he overacts in certain films.[17]
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Popularity
Ganesan with American actor Marlon Brando
When president Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt visited India, Sivaji Ganesan was the only individual, granted permission by the Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, to host a party for Nasser. Nasser was given a number of valuable mementos depicting the civilization and culture of South India.[35] Sivaji Ganesan was the first artist from India to visit the United States of America , in the cultural exchange programme of the US Government, in 1962, where he established a good impression as Indian cultural ambassador. During his visit there, he was honored by being made the 'honorary mayor' of Niagara Falls City for one day and was presented the golden key to the city. The only other Indian who has had this honour before Ganesan was Jawaharlal Nehru.[36] On March 12, 1976 he went over to Mauritius on an invitation from prime minister Ramagoolam and took part in their independence day celebration and stayed as their government guest for four days.[35]
During his visit to the USA in June 1995, he visited Columbus, the capital of Ohio. Participating in the dinner hosted to honor Ganesan, the mayor of the city, Greg Lashutka, honored him by announcing him as a 'Honorary Citizen' of Columbus City . On the same occasion the mayor of Mount 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.[35]
Ganesan has remained as one of the popular Tamil actors with a large fan base. At the peak of his career, Ganesan had 3000 registered fan clubs, which worked at promoting his image and films.[37]
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Awards and honours
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International awards
1960 - Best Actor Award at the Afro-Asian Film Festival for Veerapandiya Kattabomman[21][28]
Ganesan's was awarded the Chevalier in 1995, given by the National Order of the Legion of Honour of France.[38] On April 22, 1995 at a ceremony held at the MAC Stadium in Chennai, Ganesan was presented with the Chevalier title and medallion by the French ambassador to India, Philip Petit.[21][39]
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Indian awards
1997 - Dadasaheb Phalke Award.[35][28][21]
The Government of Maharashtra has instituted a state award, in the name of Ganesan, which is given under the Best Actor category every year entited "Sivaji Ganesan Award".[38]
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National film awards
1993 - National Film Award - Special Jury Award for Thevar Magan[38]
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Filmfare awards
1973 - Best Actor Award for Gnana Oli
1974 - Best Actor Award for Gauravam
1986 - Best Actor Award for Muthal Mariyathai
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Other honours
1966 - Padma Shri from the Government of India[28]
1984 - Padma Bhushan from the Government of India[28]
1986 - Honorary doctorate from the Annamalai University
1997 - Kalaimamani from the Government of Tamil Nadu
1998 - NTR National Award from the Government of Andhra Pradesh
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Posthumous honours
A statue of Ganesan was erected on Kamarajar Road in Chennai, Tamil Nadu to honour the actor and was unveiled by the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on 2006.[35][23] The South Indian Film Artistes' Association as a tribute to Ganesan, declared that 1 October, the birth day of Ganesan, would be observed as Actors' Day by the association Chennai film industry.[40]
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Notable filmography
Main article: Sivaji Ganesan filmographyYear Film Role Language Notes
1952 Parasakthi Gunasekaran Tamil Debut film
1953 Pempudu Koduku Telugu
1953 Poongothai Tamil
1955 Mudhal Thethi Tamil
1956 Amara Deepam Tamil
1956 Tenali Raman Tamil
1956 Rangoon Radha Tamil
1958 School Master Tamil,
Kannada
1959 Veerapandiya Kattabomman Tamil Winner, Best Actor at Afro-Asian Film Festival
1961 Kappalotiya Thamizhan Tamil
1961 Pasamalar Tamil
1963 Karnan Tamil
1964 Navarathri Tamil Portrayed nine different roles
1966 Motor Sundaram Pillai Tamil
1967 Kandan Karunai Tamil
1969 Thillana Mohanambal Tamil
1969 Deiva Magan Tamil Winner, Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor,
India's official entry for Oscar
1970 Vietnam Veedu Tamil Winner, Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor
1972 Gnana Oli Tamil Winner, Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award
1972 Vasantha Maligai Tamil Winner, Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor
1973 Gauravam Rajinikanth,
(Dual roles) Tamil Winner, Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award,
Winner, Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor
1979 Thiri Soolam Tamil Three roles
1985 Muthal Mariyathai Tamil Winner, Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award,
Winner, Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor
1992 Thevar Magan Tamil Winner, National Film Award (Special Jury)
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