| Name | Chevalier
Dr. Sivaji Ganesan |
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| Imagesize | 150px |
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| Caption | Portrait of Sivaji Ganesan, Filmfare, August 24, 1962 |
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| Birthname | Viluppuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan |
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| Birthdate | October 01, 1927 |
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| Birth place | Viluppuram, Tamil Nadu, India |
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| Deathdate | July 21, 2001 |
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| Deathplace | Chennai, India |
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| Othername | Nadigar Thilagam |
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| Yearsactive | 1952-1999 |
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| Spouse | Kamala Ganesan |
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| Website | http://www.sivajiprabhu.com/ |
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Viluppuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan Mandrayar .( ), popularly known as Sivaji Ganesan ( ) (October 1, 1927 - July 21, 2001) was a Indian stage and film actor who was considered to be among the first and finest method actors in India. His fame came from his versatility and expressive prowess in Tamil cinema. He was the first Indian actor to be made a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
Early life
Sivaji was born on 01.10.1927 to Chinayya Mandrayar and Rajamani in a Tamil middle class Kallar family. That day was a Monday, and on that day his father Chinnaiya Mandrayar was arrested for taking part in an anti-British campaign in Villupuram .
Acting career
Apart from his immense success and reception in
Tamil cinema, he has also acted in
Hindi,
Telugu,
Malayalam, and
Kannada-language films. Ganesan's first film was the
Tamil film
Parasakthi in 1952, co-starring actress
Pandari Bai. The script for the film was written and directed by the now-
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,
M. Karunanidhi. Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, a torch bearer for Dravidian Movement, freedom fighter and atheist, was very much impressed by Ganesan's performance as the Maratha warrior Sivaji in the Play "Sivaji Kannda Hindu Raajiyam" and called him as Sivaji.
Donning versatile roles
,
M. G. R.,
Gemini Ganesan and film director Sridhar.]]
In his career spanning 5 decades, Sivaji Ganesan has donned innumerable characters. The portryal of Lord shiva in the movie Thiruvilayaadal won him lot of accolades. In the film
Navarathiri (1964), Ganesan donned nine different roles that represented the nine emotional states of a person. Hindi actor,
Sanjeev Kumar, was inspired by this film and reprised the nine roles in
Naya Din Nayi Raat in 1974. Ganesan could strike a balance between commercial cinema, Mythological cinema and experimental cinema. Sivaji is always unique when compared to other actors in India. He experimented in films like
Thiruvilayaadal,
Thiruvarutselvar,
Thirumal Perumai,
Karnan,
Veerapandiya Kattabomman,
Thillana Mohanaambal and
Raja Rishi. 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. Sivaji Ganesan was the first Indian actor to get an award for Best Actor abroad. His roles included V.O.C., Vanchinathan, Thiruppur Kumaran, Bhagat Singh (freedom fighters), Karnan, Bharathan (epic characters), Naradhar, Appar, Aazhvar (puranic characters), lepor, doctor, judge, advocate, rickshaw puller, etc. in real life characters.
Appealing to the masses
Sheer variety of Ganesan's roles gave him much acclaim and honour. He co-starred with his counterpart, M. G. Ramachandran in one film, which was
Koondukkili. He has worked with many of the leading actresses of his time, including
Savithri,
Padmini,
B. Sarojadevi,
K. R. Vijaya and
J. Jayalalitha. He also co-starred with other lead actors such as
Gemini Ganesan,
Muthuraman,
M. R. Radha, and many more.
Though he accumulated awards throughout the '50s and '60s, it was in 1972 that Ganesan delivered his first all-time blockbuster Vasantha Maaligai. In 1979, he delivered his second and final all-time blockbuster Thirisoolam, adapted from the Kannada film Shankar Guru in which Dr Rajkumar had played the lead role. After this, Sivaji Ganesan began acting in supporting roles.Due to his popularity and his rival MGR's
success in politics Shivaji 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 Sivaji's political career to an end.
Nearing retirement
In the 1990s, as Ganesan was aging, he co-starred with several other actors. His notable films supporting roles were
Veerapaandiyan,
Jalli Kattu,
Pudhiya Vaanam,
Thevar Magan,
Pasumpon and
En Aasai Raasaave. His last film before his death was
Padayappa in 1999 which was also a blockbuster. 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. Ganesan has co-starred with M. G. Ramachandran, M. N. Nambiar, Gemini Ganesan, Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Prabhu Ganesan, Sathyaraj, Vijayakanth, Mohanlal, Ramarajan, Y. G. Mahendran, Sivakumar, K. Bhagyaraj, Karthik Muthuraman, Arjun Sarja, Joseph Vijay and Abbas. He has also worked with a vast amount of directors and producers. His legacy continues to be remembered today and is looked upon by many leading film actors.
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. 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. Before his death he came to
Melakadambur Temple at kattumannarkoil taluk, cuddalore district.
Legacy
at the Annai Illam.]]
Posthumous honours
A statue of Sivaji Ganesan was erected on Kamarajar Salai, in
Chennai,
Tamil Nadu to honour the actor and was unveiled by the Hon'ble Chief Minister Dr. Kalaignar
M. Karunanidhi on 21.07.2006.
The South Indian Film Artistes' Association as a tribute to the legend, declared that October 1, the birth day of Ganesan, would be observed as Actors' Day by the Association Chennai film industry.
Popularity
Sivaji Ganesan has remained as the most popular Tamil actor with the most of number of fans. This fact has been confirmed by many independent surveys conducted.
.]]
The popular Tamil magazine
Kumudam conducted a survey in 1990. Sivaji Ganesan was voted as the most popular actor with (35%) votes followed by
M. G. Ramachandran (30%),
Rajinikanth (20%) and
Kamal Haasan (15%). Though the survey
was conducted in 1990, when Sivaji Ganesan had almost retired from acting and Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan were rising stars in Tamil cinema.
During a visit to the U.S. in June 1995, Sivaji Ganesan found himself in Columbus, Ohio. Mayor Greg Lashutka named him honorary citizen of Columbus at a special dinner.
In 1962, Ganesan toured the U.S., 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.
When actor Marlon Brando visited India, he was shown film footage of Sivaji Ganesan. From then on Brando admired Sivaji Ganesan for his acting style. He also stated that "Sivaji Ganesan may act like me but I cannot act like Sivaji Ganesan."
Awards and honours
Légion d'honneur
Sivaji Ganesan's most prestigious award was the 'Chevalier' in 1995, awarded by the
National Order of the Legion of Honour in
France. This is one of the main decorations of the French Republic which is conferred to honour the most original and talented personalities, for their remarkable contributions in the field of Arts and Literature in France and all over the world. On April 22, 1995, at a ceremony held at the MAC Stadium,
Chennai, Sivaji Ganesan was presented the Chevalier title and medallion by the French Ambassador to India, Philip Petit.
J. Jayalalitha, the entire Tamil film industry and representatives of all other
Indian regional film industries were present at the ceremony.
Other awards
Afro-Asian Film Festival Best Actor Award, 1959
Padma Shri, 1966
Padma Bhushan, 1984
National Film Award - Special Jury Award for Thevar Magan, 1993
Chevalier (Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France), 1995
Dadasaheb Phalke Award, 1996
Kalaimamani, 1997
NTR National Award, 1998
Honourary doctorate
Filmography
Notes
References
External links
Category:1928 births
Category:2001 deaths
Category:Indian actors
Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan
Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri
Category:Tamil people
Category:Tamil actors
Category:Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients
Category:Indian actor-politicians
Category:Ordre des Arts et des Lettres recipients
