Ramaswamy Ganesan^[2] (November 17, 1920 - March 22, 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian film actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was nicknamed "Kadhal Mannan" (King of Romance) for the romantic roles he played in films.^[3] Ganesan was one among the "three biggest names of Tamil cinema", the other two being M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan.^[4] While Sivaji Ganesan excelled in films with drama, and MGR dominated films with fight sequences, Gemini Ganesan held his own with sensitive portrayals of the yearning lover.^[5] A recipient of the Padmashree in 1971, he had also won several other prestigious awards such as the "Kalaimamani", "MGR Gold Medal" and "Screen Lifetime Achievement Award". He came from an orthodox Brahmin family, and was one of the few graduates to enter the film industry at that time.^[6]

Gemini Ganesan made his debut with Miss Malini in 1947, but was noticed only after his villainous performance in Thai Ullam in 1953.^[7] After playing the lead role in Manam Pola Mangalyam (1954), he finally acquired star status.^[8] However unlike Sivaji Ganesan or MGR, Gemini Ganesan was not originally a stage performer, and was never involved in politics. Also, he had not won any National Award for his performances in films.^[9] In his long film career spanning over five decades, Ganesan acted in more than 200 films mainly in Tamil, and a few in Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.^[10] His performances on the screen were enhanced by successful playback singers like A. M. Rajah and P. B. Sreenivas.^[5][11] In spite of his celebrated film career, Ganesan's personal life - particularly his marriage to multiple women over the years, has often been a subject of criticism.^[12]

Early life[link]

Born on 17 November 1920 to Ramaswamy and Gangamma, Ganesan belonged to a middle class Tamil Brahmin family residing at Pudukottai district, Tamil Nadu. He was highly inspired by his grandfather Narayanaswami, who took care of the family when he was a child. His grandfather died when he was in the sixth class and later on, he lost his father as well. After the death of his father, Ganesan, along with his grandmother Bagirathi and mother Gangamma, moved to his aunt Muthulakshmi’s residence, in Madras (now known as Chennai). Life in the city did not suit Gangamma, and she decided to go back to Pudukkottai.^[5] His birth name is widely accepted as Ramaswamy Ganesan, though it is also rumoured to have been Ganapati Subramanian Sarma.^[13]

Education[link]

Since Gemini Ganesan’s aunt Muthulakshmi was an ardent follower of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, she later decided to enroll him into Ramakrishna Mission Home. There, he was taught yoga and sanskrit and made to read Upanishads, Vedas and Bhagavad Gita as well. He spent a disciplined life at the Home and became an expert in Yoga. However, he could not bear the agony of being separated from his mother, who was residing at Pudhukkottai. Therefore, he returned to his native place and joined a high-school there. Later on, he joined Maharajah's College, located in the same place. However, he completed his graduation at Madras Christian College, Chennai.^[5]

Early work[link]

Ganesan’s dream was to become a doctor.^[14] In April 1940 he went to Trichy to see T.R. Alamelu. Alamelu’s father proposed his daughter in marriage and promised him a medical seat after graduation. Ganesan immediately agreed and married Alamelu in June 1940. Alamelu lost her father and her elder sister within one month of her marriage. Ganesan's dreams of becoming a doctor shattered. There was no choice left for him but to find a job immediately as he was the only person to support his family. He got an interview from Indian Air Force. Much against Alamelu’s wishes Ganesan went to Delhi. In Delhi he met his uncle Narayanaswami who advised him to become a teacher. Finally, Ganesan worked as a lecturer in the Department of Chemistry, at Madras Christian College. Later on, he took up the job of a production executive in Gemini Studios in 1947, from where the title “Gemini” was added to his name. He received an entry to films from the casting department of the Studio itself.^[5]

Career[link]

Initial years[link]

From the casting department, Ganesan made his film debut in 1947 with the social satire film Miss Malini, in a minor role. The film, which was based on the story Mr. Sampath by R. K. Narayan^[15] and cast him alongside his future wife Pushpavalli, was a box office failure as it was considered "ahead of it's time", but was well received by intellectuals. Currently, no print of that film exists, making it a lost film.^[16] This was followed by Chakradhari, in which he played another minor role as Lord Krishna. The film was a box-office success, but his performance went unnoticed. It was not until 1953, when he played a villainous role in the film Thai Ullam opposite R. S. Manohar, did people take notice of him as an actor. The next year, he appeared in a supporting role in the Gemini Studios production Moondru Pillaigal, which was unsuccessful. He was then cast as a hero for the first time with Manampol Mangalyam. The film paired him with his future wife Savitri, and became a "milestone in his life".^[17] From then on, he carved out a niche for himself in Tamil cinema with films that required a lot of romance but little action.

Stardom in south[link]

In his career spanning nearly 50 years, Ganesan played a variety of roles, from Abhimanyu in Maya Bazaar (1957) to freedom fighter Madasamy in Kappalotiya Thamizhan (1961), and in Pennin Perumai (1960), he played a non-assertive imbecile morphing into a well-moulded human being. Ganesan also starred in Kalathur Kannamma (1959), which was also the debut for Kamal Haasan, who would later become one of the leading actors in Tamil cinema. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil - Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Feature Film in 1961.^[9] Ganesan also starred in Veerapandiya Kattabomman (1959) alongside Sivaji Ganesan. The film was selected for the Afro-Asian Film Festival in 1960.^[18] It was also nominated for the National Film Award in in 1960, along with Gemini Ganesan's Kalyana Parisu, but both lost to Bhaaga Pirivinai. The ruritanian romance film Vanjikottai Valiban (1958) was a high budget film and became a huge commercial success due to much hype.^[19] The historical fiction film Parthiban Kanavu (1960) won the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film,^[20] but failed commercially.^[21] His 1961 film Then Nilavu was the first Tamil film to be shot extensively in Jammu and Kashmir, and became a great success at the box office.^[22][23] He co-starred with rival actor M. G. Ramachandran in Muharasi (1966), which was their only film together.^[1] Ganesan's best performance is considered to be in his home production, Naan Avan Illai (1974) in which he played many roles as seducer of women. Directed by K. Balachandar, this film won high critical praise for Ganesan's performance but according to Ganesan, the film did not succeed commercially.^[17] Some of his other best works include Missiamma, a remake of the same-titled Telugu film, the multi-lingual School Master, Konjum Salangai, Kanavane Kan Kanda Deivam, Meenda Sorgam, Shanti Nilayam, Vaazhkai Padagu, Katpaham, Ramu, Thamarai Nenjam, and Punnagai. Ganesan had paired with several leading actresses like Anjali Devi, Pushpavalli, Padmini, Vyjayanthimala, Savithri, Devika, Vijayakumari, Saroja Devi, Rajasree, Kanchana, Jayanthi, K. R. Vijaya and Jayalalithaa.^[1]

Bollywood career[link]

Gemini Ganesan acted in a few Hindi films, though without much success. Notably, he played the lead role in Raj Tilak (1958), which was the Hindi remake of his own Vanjikottai Valiban. The film was a box office failure, and collapsed within a week of release.^[24] He also did a guest role in Nazrana (1961), the Hindi remake of his own Kalyana Parisu, that had him in the lead.^[25] Though the film was an average grosser, it was the 12th highest-grossing film of the year.^[26]

Later years[link]

Later in his career, he switched to little different character roles. Notable among these was the Telugu film Rudraveena (remade in Tamil as Unnal Mudiyum Thambi), considered one of his best films in Telugu. Another notable film was Avvai Shanmughi (1996), in which he characteristically played the role of an old man longing for an old maid, portrayed by Kamal Haasan. Towards the end of his acting career he kept himself busy with elegant roles in television serials, one notable serial was Krishnadasi.^[27] Ganesan also appeared in Mettukudi (1996), Kaalamellam Kadhal Vaazhga (1997),^[28] Thodarum^[29] (1998), and his acting career ended the same year with Naam Iruvar Namakku Iruvar,^[30] followed by a special appearance in Gemini (2002).^[31]

Other work[link]

Unlike the other two leading Tamil actors of that time - Sivaji Ganesan and M. G. Ramachandran, Gemini Ganesan did not come from a stage background. This made his screen presence refreshingly credible and his acting was not stylised. He sustained his film career without the support of any fan club or backing of a political party. He stayed away from politics, even declining a Rajya Sabha MP offer by Rajiv Gandhi.^[1] The only time he got anywhere near politics was, when he organised a function for poet Subramania Bharathi at Ettayapuram in 1963.^[9] Apart from acting, Ganesan was also a shrewd businessman and invested heavily in real estate and property development.^[7] He was a good sportsman, having captained his College Cricket team and was successful in various sports like Tennis, Golf, and Badminton.^[32] Ganesan also worked as director for the film Idhaya Malar (1976), that starred Kamal Haasan and Y. G. Mahendran.^[33]

Criticism[link]

Despite being one of the most successful actors of Tamil cinema during his time, Gemini Ganesan's talents were not properly exploited and were mostly confined to "boy meets girl" romantic films.^[34] Because of his portrayal of soft roles and him not doing action roles, he was informally nicknamed "Sambhar" by colleagues Sivaji Ganesan and M. G. Ramachandran.^[7] His marriages to multiple women, led to him being labelled a "womanizer".^[12] His hostile relationship with daughter Rekha was also a major criticism. He did not acknowledge Rekha's paternity during her childhood. It was in the early 1970s, when Rekha was looking for a footing in Bollywood, that she revealed her origins. Later, at the peak of her career, Rekha told a magazine interviewer that her father's neglect still rankled and that she had ignored his efforts at reconciliation.^[35][36] She did not even attend her father's funeral in 2005, and once when asked about their relationship in a televised interview, she paused with silence and revealed nothing.^[2]

Personal life[link]

Gemini Ganesan, at 19, was first married to Alamelu, who he fondly called as "Bopji". She is considered his first and only legal wife. He later married actresses Pushpavalli and Savitri. He is survived by seven daughters and a son. Alamelu and Ganesan have four daughters: Three of them - Revathy, Kamala and Jeya are medical doctors, the fourth Narayani is a journalist at The Times of India. Ganesan has two daughters by Pushpavalli - Bollywood actress Rekha, and Radha. The latter acted in a few Tamil films, but then opted for marriage and migration to the United States. Savithri and Ganesan have two children: a daughter Vijayasamundeeswari who is a Physiotherapist, and acted in films as a child artiste “Baby Savithri”, and Ganesan’s only son Satheesh Kumar. Ganesan's fourth and last wife, whom he married at the age of 78 was a then 36-year old Julianna. According to one report, "Juliana left her job and people, to be near her husband, who said he needed a younger wife to attend on him, as first-wife Babji too was advancing in years."^[1][37] He however publicly admitted that he was closest to his first wife Bopji, than Pushpavalli or Savithri. The actor had noted in his autobiography Vaazhkai Padagu, "Somehow, I seemed to attract women who were in distress."^[38]

Death[link]

After a prolonged illness caused by renal failure and multiple organ failure, Gemini Ganesan was found dead at his residence on 22 March 2005, 13:30 IST. He was cremated with full state honours. Prominent personalities including Tamil Nadu's chief ministers M. Karunanidhi and Jayalalitha paid their last respects to the veteran actor.^[39] Ganesan's funeral was not attended by daughter Rekha, with whom his relationship was hostile.^[2]

Accolades[link]

• 1970 – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor for Kaaviya Thalaivi
• 1971 – Padma Shri Award^[10]
• 1974 – Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor for Naan Avanillai
• 1993 – Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South
• MGR Gold Medal^[6]
• Screen Lifetime Achievement Award^[6]
• Kalaimamani Award

Notable filmography[link]

Gallery[link]

• Gemini ganesan stamp.jpg

  A postage stamp of Gemini Ganesan, issued in 2006
  

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• Gemini-ganesan-phone.jpg

  Ganesan as Lord Krishna, in an undated photograph
  

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• Sivaji Gemini Sport.jpg

  With actor Sivaji Ganesan at a Hockey match
  

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References[link]