Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan Part 12

[kalnayak]

Dear RKS,

Fantastic Photographs. Great comparisons. Superb collections.

[Gopal.s]

RKS,

I dont have words to express my awe??? What a presentation!!! After a while, I am really dumbfound and impressed.keep it up. Thread was losing the focus with sub-mediocre write-ups. Now it is picking up with your impressive presentation.

[chinnakkannan]

Dear RKS sir

Your collections are very nice. kalakkureenga as ususual

Thanks

[Russelldwp]

Dear ravi kiran surya sir

thanks for your tremendous and superb collections and comparison

very happy to see all

[Russellbpw]

An Application about our Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan in Microsoft shopping Site : Developed by one Mr. Karthi.

http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en...-3aeb59ec0ef8#

[Russellbpw]

Forever Sivaji


He is one of the legends who cast his magic spell on Tamil cinema for 50 years. There is no Tamil actor ever - then and now even in future - could live and be successful without inheriting some of his DNA codes. Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan is the man who inspired the careers of almost all the present generation actors. Even Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan proved their mettle to enter films by reproducing Sivaji Ganesan's dialogues in films. There is no actor who has not recited his dialogue for his first offer.

Such was the impact his films had on their generation. Though he walked in style, smiled in style, wept in style, one important factor that contributed to the success of Nadigar Thilagam was his dialogue delivery. The thespian's voice and diction trained actors in dialogue delivery in films. The rise of Dravidian movement that used films to propagate its ideologies was a boon to actors like Sivaji Ganesan and MGR who spoke the language with impeccable accent and style.

The authority of Sivaji Ganesan's dialogue delivery was recognized even before his first Tamil film 'Parasakthi' was released. Sivaji himself lent his voice to Mukkammala Krishnamurthy, a Telugu actor, for a Tamil film, Niraparathi before Parasakthi. Later when Sivaji excelled from the court room in 'Parasakthi' arrived one of the greatest actors of all time in world cinema.

'Parasakthi' is a trend setter. It was after 'Parasakthi' started the trend of a film's dialogues printed and sold separately like film songs book. Though the dialogue writers can also take credit for it the actors who gave life to the words also share equal credit. Of all the films whose dialogues were made in book forms nearly all of them happened to be Sivaji Ganesan's films. It may not be wrong to say Sivaji's dialogues in 'Parasakthi' took the fans away from Tamil films that used to have 15 or more songs each.

Sivaji Ganesan with his extraordinary memory and powerful voice could fascinate his fans with long spells of dialogues in pure Tamil. He said once "dialogue for me is poetry. I have a passion for poetry. And so, there was no problem for me in rendering it effectively."

If we look at his films from the perspective of the time in which they appeared we can safely conclude there can be no equal for him in dialogue delivery. Rightly he was given the title 'Simmakkuralon' by his fans. Sivaji knew when to shoot up and when to tone down to achieve maximum impact. Be it historical films like 'Veerapandia Kattabomman', 'Manohara', or mythological films like 'Karnan', 'Thruvilaiyadal', or civilized socials like 'Parasakthi', 'Thangappadhakkam' Sivaji has shown the range existed till then.

Today when dubbing has become a high-tech sound engineering, it's enlightening to recall the sheer magic of Sivaji who could recall his entire stretch of dialogues with the same emotions with which it was delivered 6 months before. So was the passion and so was the talent.

It has been nine years since Nadigar Thilagam passed away. But the charisma of the legend continues to sway film maniacs.

Here are some of the immortal dialogues of Nadigar Thilagam 'Simmakkuralon' Sivaji Ganesan to replenish your good memories.

[Russellbpw]

An actor and a gentleman

Sivaji Ganesan was well known as one of India's best actors but what was the man like? SABITA RADHAKRISHNA profiles the thespian.

A SEVEN-year-old boy watched the "Veerapandya Kattabomman" nadagam in fascinated silence. He was hoisted on stage to make an appearance as a British soldier. He enjoyed the stage and savoured the applause. Once home, his father, a freedom fighter, thrashed him mercilessly. How could he play the role of an "enemy"? How dared he preen himself on stage! Something broke in the little boy's psyche. What was wrong in being an actor and fending for himself? It would mean one mouth less to feed.

Ganesa joined the Madurai Shri Bala Gana Sabha on the pretext that he was an orphan, aware that his parents would never permit him to leave home, much less join theatre. This young boy became the legendary Sivaji Ganesan, who played the role of "Veerapandiya Kattabomman" in the film of the same name.

Sivaji's growth as an actor was meteoric and phenomenal thanks to single minded pursuit of his goal despite the most adverse of circumstances. His dedication to the theatre, passion, hard work and a grim determination to reach the heights of excellence made him one of the greatest actors in his lifetime with a career span of 65 years and nearly 300 films and innumerable plays to his credit.

The training at the gurukul was rigorous beginning with early bath and then prayers. Training in music and dance followed, and the next session involved learning the dialogues for the night performance. "We did not get one square meal in a day. Though we led an austere life, we had to talk loudly and act like kings on stage... " In Periyakulam, a kindly soul sent the boys a bag of rice. One of them accidentally poured kerosene on the bag. They were so hungry that they washed the rice with soap and ate it. The boys were not permitted to go home in years and letters were censored. They would find centipedes in the shirts, red ants in the wigs and the place was rife with snakes and scorpions. However daunting this may have been, young Ganesan's dogged determination to make it big one day kept him from being resentful or rebellious. He never once forgot a good deed done to him and venerated those who were instrumental in promoting his career.


Annadurai wrote a play "Sivaji Kanda Hindu Rajyam" and MGR, who was supposed to play the lead role, backed out with hardly a week left. When the 17-year-old Ganesan rattled off the dialogue in one go, he bagged the coveted lead. Periyar who saw the play announced that in future the young actor would be known as Sivaji Ganesan.

Having suffered abject poverty, he saw to it that his family was well provided for, and took his siblings and their children under his wing, once he began earning well. Often, one who has suffered intense hardship and has abysmal poverty clutches at money when it flows in. But Sivaji, on the other hand, became a great philanthropist. There is no record of how much money he gave to people as it was always done quietly. "Parasakti" catapulted him into fame and fortune. After his foray into films, Sivaji started a drama company just so his colleagues in theatre should not face unemployment. He began to work relentlessly unmindful of his health.

His family life suffered. He worked three shifts a day, often moving from one studio to another hardly going home. "I do not know how my children grew up. They received all the love and attention from their mother Kamala and my brother Shanmugham." Marrying Kamala was the best thing that happened to him and he has often said that she was his greatest asset. Though Sivaji was not actively involved in politics, he supported the ideologies of the leaders he loved, and would always be ready with donations he had collected for a good cause. M. Karunanidhi, whom he considered a brilliant playwright, was a dear childhood playmate. Annadurai and Periyar loved him. Sivaji was so close to M.G. Ramachandran that he visited him in the U.S. when the latter was very ill. Politics was a bitter pill to swallow and time and again, the actor suffered the crushing disappointment of being let down by the very friends that he sought to support. After many such disappointments, he realised the wisdom of moving away from the political arena.

Intensely patriotic, Sivaji Ganesan was quoted as saying that the most valued of his awards were the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan where the Government of India recognised his contribution as a good citizen. Much later than he deserved he received the Dada Phalke Saheb Award. The Chevalier award from the French Government in 1995 in the last phase of his life made the Indians sit up and notice his achievements once more.

Overwork and a hard life took its toll and, on July 21, 2001, the colossus passed on. The world and his family wept, but those who loved him knew that it was not an end but a beginning — for all those children who are being educated with his legacy of love.

[Russellbpw]

SIVAJI GANESAN (ORIGINAL name, Villupuram Chinnaiya Ganeshamurthy), the mighty oak of Tamil movies, has returned to his roots in Mother Earth. The great screen presence, that inimitable voice capable of reflecting and registering even the minutest change of hue and colour in the spectrum of human emotions, the indefinable factor, charisma and more, that elevated a mere V. C. Ganesan to Sivaji Ganesan, can now only be seen and heard in the rich legacy of the 300 plus movies he has left behind.

He had played an incredible variety of roles in his long career - thief, king, cult figures, historical characters, rebel, playboy, labour leader, mythological figures, religious personalities, selfish man, unselfish head of the family... you name it and he has played that role to perfection!

Indeed in the history of cinema no other actor has played such wide and winsome range of roles. And he was never typecast for a particular role like most stars of today. Excepting perhaps for the stunts-oriented action roles, he felt at home in every role!

Even though he woke up one fine morning, like Lord Byron, and found himself famous with ``Parasakthi'' (1952), he had his first dip in the waters of cinema earlier in ``Nirabaradhi''(1951). Made in Telugu and Tamil by the sadly forgotten pioneer, the Grand Old Man of South Indian cinema, H. M. Reddi, it had Mukkammala Krishnamurthy as the hero, in both versions. As he could not speak Tamil, Reddi looked round for suitable voice to dub the dialogue for the hero, and he found a young struggling stage actor named V. C. Ganesan! The voice-lender received a princely sum of five hundred rupees!

Even in ``Parasakthi'' some had doubts if he were the right choice. Indeed shooting was stopped for some time and better actors were considered to replace the new man. But the main man of the project, P. A. Perumal (known as PAP among his pals), stood firmly like a mighty rock refusing to replace his first choice. The rest, as the cliche goes, is history. No wonder Sivaji Ganesan revered P. A. Perumal as his God on earth.

When ``Parasakthi'' was undergoing its birth pangs, another film, ``Poonkothai'' faced similar problems. Indeed in this film Sivaji Ganesan played the supporting role (known as second hero in the local filmland lingo) with the Telugu film star, A. Nageswara Rao as hero. Interestingly in the initial ads promoting the film his name appeared as V. C. Ganesan and not as Sivaji Ganesan!

Stardom did not come to him on a silver platter even after ``Parasakthi'' as many are inclined to think today. In the early 1950s he had to struggle, for some of his films did not fare well at the box-office. ``Andha Naal''(1954) the first song-dance less Tamil film, in which he played the then not so popular anti-hero, won him high praise but the film did not do well money-wise. Very few are aware that Sivaji Ganesan was the third actor to play the role. The film was begun with S. V. Sahasranamam cast in the lead role and as he was thought to be rather old he was replaced by that fine actor, Calcutta N. Viswanathan who was then knocking on the doors of Tamil cinema with no success. (Later he did act in Tamil films and played many character roles brilliantly.) For some reason he too was removed, and entered Sivaji Ganesan with bells on.

Who inspired Sivaji Ganesan as his role model in his career? While he created his roles with his own genius and observation of real life persons, he did draw inspiration from that actor's actor and the brilliant Hollywood superstar, Spencer Tracy. Observant visitors to his Shanthi theatre on Anna Salai, in Chennai, would have noticed above the entrance to the balcony class a photo showing him and Spencer Tracy. It was taken in Hollywood, when he visited it in the early 1960s. (During a chat some years ago, he told this writer about his adoration for Spencer Tracy. ``I took ideas from his style of walking to form my own style!'' he said.)

Did Sivaji Ganesan overact as remarked by many? The answer is yes and no! His background was Tamil theatre. In theatre one has to be loud - gestures, voice, emotions, and all. Consequently he could not escape such legacy. The other telling reason is the Tamil cinema of that day - its producers, directors and writers. They took advantage of his incredible memory, talent and skill to speak reams of jaw-breaking alliterative, high-flown Tamil dialogue in a single take of the shot. And they found gold in it! In every other film of his they introduced historical and other plays, or scenes specially written for him. It was a kind of exploitation! Ashoka the Great, Akbar, Othello (both in Tamil and English! ) Cheran Senguttuvan.. and many more, he did them all. Sivaji Ganesan, the great actor may be gone but his films shall live forever.

As somebody remarked a movie actor never dies for he shall always live in his movies. So will Sivaji Ganesan.

[Russellbpw]

A doyen among actors

Sivaji Ganesan, 1928-2001.

SIVAJI GANESAN, 72, one of the brightest stars on the Tamil film firmament for nearly five decades, passed away at a Chennai hospital on July 21. With more than 300 film roles to his credit, he inspired a whole generation of artists, virtually creating a new school of acting.

His acting career, which began at the age of eight, could be divided into three phases - 1936 to 1952, when he acted only on stage; 1952 to 1974, when he acted for the big screen and also gave stage performances; and 1974 to 1999, when he acted only in films. (His last film was Pooparikka Varigirom.)

V. SUDERSHAN

Villupuram Chinniah Ganesan, or V.C. Ganesan, was born on October 1, 1928, in Villupuram, which was then in Tamil Nadu's South Arcot district, to Chinnaiapillai, a railway employee and freedom fighter, and Rajamani, in whose name he was to launch later a successful film company, Rajamani Pictures.

Smitten by a street drama about Kattabomman, the feudal Polagar of Panchalan-kurichi who defied the British, young Ganesan became enamoured of acting and abandoned school when he was in Class Two. Forsaking home, he joined the Madurai-based Bala Gana Sabha drama troupe first, and later the troupe run by Ethaartham Ponnusamipillai. From child roles he graduated to female roles and then on to the "raja part", the role of the hero, as it was known then. The first landmark in his career was his portrayal of the Maratha warrior Sivaji in the drama ''Sivaji Kanda Samrajyam'' written by Dravida Munnetra Kazha-gam leader C.N. Annadurai, who went on to become the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. E.V. Ramaswamy, the patriarch of the Dravidian movement, acclaimed his stellar performance and referred to Ganesan as 'Sivaji' Ganesan. This was in 1946. The sobriquet stuck.

The big break in Sivaji's career came in 1952, when he acted as the hero in Parasakthi, a film directed by Krishnan-Panju. The dialogue, written by DMK leader and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in fiery and flowery prose with a surfeit of alliterations, the hallmark of Karunanidhi's style, came powerfully alive in a stunning performance by Sivaji, unparalleled in Tamil cinema. The monologue uttered as an address to Tamil Nadu in the earlier scenes and the courthouse speech in the closing stages of the film were classic instances of delightful oratory. A star had arrived in Tamil cinema.

The Karunanidhi-Sivaji combination made an explosive impact. The writer's rich prose, brimming with vitality, was given emotive and impressive expression by the actor. Every film in which they collaborated was a success. Notable among them were Thirumbi Paar, Manohara, Kuravanji and Iruvar Ullam.

Sivaji had an extraordinary flair for dialogue delivery. He pioneered an exquisite style, diction, tone and tenor. (Later other scriptwriters, such as Solaimalai, Sakthi Krishnaswamy, Aroor Das, and 'Vietnam Veedu' Sundaram, were to provide dialogue that tapped his diction, which rendered the Tamil language euphonious.)

A generation of actors and aspirants modelled themselves on his style. Despite this mass attempt to imitate and emulate him there was no replicating or duplicating the veteran. This stylish, dramatic presentation was essentially considered to be a feature suitable for the stage rather than the screen. A device used frequently in his earlier films to give an outlet to his histrionic talents was the inclusion of short historical dramas - on the Chera King Senkuttuvan, Akbar's son Salim or Jahangir, Socrates, Emperor Asoka among others - within the main plot, often dealing with a social theme.

His acting ability received maximum exposure in the bantering arguments Veerapandiya Kattabomman has with his British adversaries in the eponymous film. Sivaji received the best actor award for this role at the Afro-Asian film festival held in Cairo in 1960.

Sivaji's talents were by no means restricted to his oratorical prowess and powerful dialogue delivery. He could emote all the nine moods (navarasas) realistically. This skill found scope in all his films and came out into full play in his 100th film Navarathri in 1964, in which he played nine different characters signifying wonder, fear, compassion, anger, gentleness, revulsion, romantic passion, courage and happiness.

His other commendable multi-role performances were in Uthama Puthiran in a dual role, and Deiva Magan and Bale Pandiya in which he did three roles each.

Sivaji Ganesan played a wide range of characters, from god and king to commoner. Whether it was the mercurial Chola emperor Raja Raja Cholan, Lord Siva, Lord Muruga, Saivite saint Appar, Vaishnavite saint Periyaalvar or Tamil poet Ambigapathy, Sivaji was always at his scintillating best. He was equally splendid in contemporary roles and stereotypes making every performance a memorable one.

Superb among them are his roles as Bharatha in Sampoorna Ramayanam, the patriotic lawyer Chidambaram Pillai in Kappalottiya Thamizhan, the nagaswaram player Sikkal Shanmugasundaram in Thillana Mohanambal, Prestige Padma-nadha Aiyer in Vietnam Veedu, Barrister Rajanikanth in Gauravam and Police Superintendent Chaudhury in Thangapadhakkam.

Despite achieving stupendous success on the screen, Sivaji remained faithful to his first love, the stage, and acted in plays for decades. Scenes from some of his films remain etched in memory: the 'Yaaradi Nee Mohini' song sequence in Uttama Puthiran, where Sivaji's mannerisms would remind present day movie-goers of Rajnikanth's style; the physically challenged Ponniah in Bhagapirivinai, the inimitable gait as the fisherman in Thiruvilayadal and the clash with Tamil scholar Nakkeeran in the same film; his duel over artistic superiority with Padmini in Thillana Mohanambal; particularly during the 'Nalanthaana?' song sequence; and the Othello drama sequence in English with Savithri as Desdemona in Iratha Thilakam.

Sivaji had an astounding capacity to synchronise lip and body movements to playback renditions making it appear as if he was actually rendering these songs. Singers Chidambaram Jeyaraman, Tiruchi Loganathan, Seerkazhi Govindarajan and A.M. Raja in the earlier days and T.M. Soundararajan later gave voice to his songs, making the singing and speaking voices blend as an indivisible entity.

Several directors, among them 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, Sridhar, P. Madh-avan, K.S. Gopalakrishnan and K. Vijayan, directed Sivaji in vastly different roles, bringing out his versatility.

It was Sivaji's tragedy that as the years progressed, opportunities for him to display his acting talent became scarce. But he did act in cameo roles, often stealing the scenes, as in Thevar Magan, which won him the National Awards Jury's Special Jury award in 1993. (Sivaji, incidentally, declined the award.)

Ironically, the man hailed as a great thespian never won a national award for best actor. He was conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke lifetime achievement award for meritorious service to Indian cinema in 1997.

THE film journal Pesum Padam gave him the honorific 'Nadigar Thilagam' (doyen of actors). Sivaji was honoured with the titles Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan and the Tamil Nadu government conferred on him the Kalaimamani award. The French government honoured him with Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Literature.

Sivaji served as a member of the Rajya Sabha. But despite his vast popularity as a film actor he was not successful in politics. Starting out as a Dravida Kazhagam and later DMK activist, he crossed over to the Congress in the late 1950s. When the Congress split in 1969 he stayed with the 'old' Congress of Kamaraj. After Kamaraj's death he joined the Congress led by Indira Gandhi. In 1989, he formed his own Tamizhaga Munnetra Munnani and struck out alone only to suffer a humiliating defeat in the elections. Later he functioned as leader of the Tamil Nadu Janata Dal for a while, but soon ceased to be active in politics.

Essentially a creature of the stage when he entered films, Sivaji Ganesan brought that baggage with him and superimposed it effectively on the film medium. Yet his brilliant acting made this so-called violation of screen norms the accepted norm of film acting. Generations of Tamils learnt to appreciate the beauty and power of the Tamil language because Sivaji Ganesan breathed new life into it.

Sivaji was no stranger to Sri Lanka. His movies ran to packed houses in the island. Several of his films were adapted and remade in Sinhala. Substantial portions of Pilot Premnath and Mohanapunnagai were shot in Sri Lankan locales with Sri Lankan artists Malini Fonseka and Geetha Kumarasinghe in the lead female roles.

[Russellbpw]

Montage of images


Sivaji Ganesan exuded charisma on screen and at home too. Ably supporting him through his career was his wife, Kamalamma. SABITA RADHAKRISHNA shares a few treasured memories...

AS A star-struck teenager, Sivaji Ganesan was the only actor I wanted to meet, having seen most of his films. His incredible acting talent, grasp of characterisation, mobility of expression, inimitable rendering of dialogue and charisma, will go down in history as the hallmark of one of the greatest actors India has produced.

I remember him particularly as the hapless hero enmeshed in the cross-fire of affection in "Mangayar Thilakam", the tragedy- struck son in "Ethirparathathu", the accomplished nadaswaram player in "Thillana Mohanambal," the ageing hero in "Mudhal Mariyadai," lead actor in innumerable historical and mythological films and a countless others. Such sterling performances left one undecided as to which film was his magnum opus. Diehard critics felt his rhetoric was loud and dramatic, but the rest of us believed he was an actor of his times and it was difficult to remain unmoved through any of his films.

I remember him during one of his recordings at the Madras Doordarshan when he was asked to enact a scene from the film on the Mahratta chief, Shivaji. It was done in one take, in one breath so to speak, such that it left us breathless.

My friend Usha, promised an introduction to Sivaji Ganesan, as their families were closely knit by friendship. Sivaji and his wife Kamalamma, warmly received us into their home as friends. Sundays would always be the best day to visit them and we could not escape the afternoon meal. The table groaned with delicacies - pepper chops, jumbo prawns or large slices of fish and biriyani. We sat with Sivaji at the table and 'pigged out' for he would raise his eyebrows in disapproval if we picked at the food, and was disappointed at our vegetarian tendencies. My idol did not have clay feet. He came across as a warm, caring person solicitous of your comfort. He enjoyed talking to you, if you wished to listen. When we did meet, for the first time, I was nervous, wondering how I would converse with him in my poor Tamil. But I did, and after several meetings and visits to his home, he would tease me about my language ("shocking to say the least, when Tamil is your mother tongue!") He had a delightful sense of humour and imitated the modern TV anchor girls, who had their own brand of Tamil and diction.

Many years ago, when I was working on a script for Madras Doordarshan, I needed to visit the place and possibly stay there overnight. Usha, who agreed to come with me, suggested that we stay at Sivaji's place. I almost fainted. I could not take the liberty and, more so, there were four of us. When Usha checked with Kamalamma and told me that they had extended their welcome, I went along, though it was with a sense of trepidation and much hesitation. Our train arrived in the early hours of the morning and we thought we would creep inside without disturbing the household.

Sivaji was lying on a cot outside, enjoying the coolness of the new day and welcomed us in his usual style. It was as if he was just a family friend, whose hospitality we enjoyed and it was difficult to believe that a celebrity like him had no airs or hang-ups. I requested him time for an interview after I returned from work. "Sure, sure, Mudaliaramma," he said, you can take all day!"

This article is actually dedicated to the wonderful woman, Kamalamma, who has been friend, companion and wife to the actor. Her name was frequently on his lips and she answered without any hesitation, however trivial the reason might have been. It might be to tend to his guests or arrange for the milk or to plan the programme for the day. Her perpetual smile, her big pottu and untiring energy are a big part of my memories. At their home in Madras, she would serve us and "us" would be at least 10-15 guests. She bustled, serving the guests herself, wiping the perspiration between frequent trips to the kitchen, but still carrying on, with a smile that radiated from her heart. Her daughter-in-law Baby was getting cast in the same mould and these two gracious women would eat at 3.30 p.m. in the true tradition of the Indian woman of yesteryear after the last guest had eaten. We suspected this was probably the order of the day, every single day.

Sivaji was such an awesome figure that however much he put you at ease you did not let your hair down with him. With Kamalamma, you could laugh and joke, and recount anecdotes. I remember asking her if film gossip did not worry her all these years. "When your husband is a film star and is literally worshipped by so many people, you have to face the inevitable. You have to trust your husband and brush gossip aside, closing your eyes to things which do not really matter in the larger context of life. Besides, my husband has not done anything to provide grist to the gossip mill... "A woman who is willing to walk in the shadow of a colossus is rare in today's world. A woman so supportive, and loving, and to whom being there for the family was of paramount importance - that describes Kamalamma.

Sivaji on Kamalamma: "One has to exercise tremendous will power and control, because you act in close proximity with a number of beautiful women. That is why it is necessary for every actor to have an understanding, considerate wife, who is also pleasant- looking! Our tensions are enormous, but you think of the wonderful woman waiting for you at home, someone loving and caring, that you do not feel like indulging yourself in petty, meaningless relationships. Kamalamma is and always has been my anchor, my counsel and support. every actor has not been as lucky as I have!"

To Sivaji, the family was always important and the extended family was also his responsibility. He gave his unqualified affection to his brothers' family as much as he did to his own children. Dignity and respect were of prime importance and for the gauravam the family members were expected to toe the line... woe to them when and if they strayed.

On awards, and not getting his rightful due: "What are awards, they are just souvenirs of appreciation, and don't I get them from my fans?"

On present day acting: "Kamal Hassan is the finest actor we have today and deserves all the accolades he has received. The present-day actors do not work hard, at least most of them don't. In our days we had such intensive training and rarely used doubles. Any person is selected for a "suitable" role. Anyway they are actors of their times and in their own way give performances the director demands."

On retiring from films: "Though I have slowed down, I will never retire. I will die with my grease paint on."

And that's what he did, almost...

I have not had the courage yet to visit Kamalamma after her bereavement. I can commiserate with her in her pain, her immeasurable grief and insecurity. Having been the pivot of Sivaji Ganesan's existence, especially in the autumnal years, God give her strength to continue being a pillar of strength to her family to whom she has become doubly precious