In Memory of Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan
If there was a matinee idol in the realms of Indian cinematic history who received as much accolades and an equally strong bout of criticism for his histrionic abilities, it was Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan. Given that he never achieved the national status that he deserved perhaps is a reflection of the complexities of the language of his mother tongue that required strong grammar, poetic undertones and louder decibels for dialogue delivery. Film critics and audience forming the majority in the North of the Vindayas who were used to the much softer, subtle shayaari and ghazals perhaps found it difficult to applaud Sivaji’s daredevilry in characterization of roles he depicted in his film career. Perhaps if he were to be born out of the Dravidian State and culture, there would have been a national consensus that he was the greatest actor Indian cinema ever produced. It is indeed a misfortune to know that Mr. Nehru pleaded ignorance of the actor when President Nasser of Egypt enquired dearly about him after seeing his stellar performance in “Veerapandia Kattabomman” in the Cairo Film Festival. Nehru did make amends when he made Sivaji the main host when Nasser visited India subsequently! Whilst this article is not to Sivaji’s defense, it presents certain facts and situations that made Sivaji a master of his own craft. It is important to know that Sivaji in his prime time did not have the liberty of exposure to media that is available to the actors today, to benchmark performances, as he spent time from dawn to dusk facing the arc lights churning out volumes that was needed to establish him as a matinee idol of Tamil Cinema. What he did use was his intelligence, imagination and creativity - traits that formed the hallmark of his entire career. This article also presents a viewpoint of a layman, outside the ambit of the film industry and the fourth estate, on what made Sivaji acquire cult status in the hearts of the Tamil cinema audience.
Sivaji was never considered to be a stylish actor by his critics. Style for men was always associated with their wardrobe, poise, and sophistication of their linguistic abilities and perhaps certain habits they carried on to give the added punch! Sivaji knowing his limitations used his “walk” to bring in the style. Whether it is the majestic walk in “Thiruvilayadal”, or the over-confident one in “Saraswathi Sabatham”, or the humble one in “Thiruvarutselvar” or the millionaire’s arrogant walk in “Navarathiri”, or the Bridge-on-the-River-Kwai inspired walk in “Thangapadakkam”, Sivaji answered his critics for his lack of style by walking. In some instances he added another dimension to the walk by using a walking stick - see him do that in soulful “Ponaal Pogattum Poda - Paalum Pazhamum” or move forward to see the swing of the stick in “Antha naal gnabagam - Uyarntha Manithan”. Unfortunately the critics missed these, but his fans remember!
Smoking was definitely considered to give that extra dimension to a man’s style. Sivaji criticized for his lack of sophistication, smoked in his films to bring style into his characters. In a film “Shanthi”, the music maestros Viswanathan-Ramamurthy, came out with an astounding composition, a Cliff Richard-like number, with continuous strumming of the bass, rhythm and jazz guitars (song: Yaar Antha Nilavu”). This song produced the magic of the three musketeers, Viswanathan - Kannadasan and Sounderrajan and they did produce a masterpiece. Sivaji, who usually is present in the recording, missed it and got to know about this song and requested director K.Shanker more time to picture this sequence. The musketeers waiting to find what he was going to do, were simply dumbfounded when Sivaji came out trumps, singing the entire solo number, mimicking the song by smoking a cigarette! The entire efforts of the trio were sidelined and till date it is Sivaji who got associated with the song and it beats every imagination to know that he produced a masterpiece with a cigarette stub! Look at him smoke the cigarillo in the song sequence “Paartha Gnabagam Illayo - Pudiya Paravai”, or go back to “Paar Magale Paar” where he smoked with a cigarette-holder, move forward to the cigar in “Gnana Oli” or the pipe in “Gauravam”, or just stoop down to the beedi in “Bale Paandiya”. Sivaji smoked each one of them the way it should. If smoking is a bad example, watch him eat peanuts in “Aandavan Kattalai” or the different dimensions of laughter he brought in the way-to-dusty death crime chiller “Antha Naal” or the way he picked up the rickshaw-handle with his left leg for the film “Babu”. Sivaji perhaps used his power of observation, mixed it with his creative intelligence and produced these characters with the sophistication and style that they deserved.
In most cinemas, physically handicapped persons are normally characterized as downtrodden to obtain public sympathy. Sivaji on the other hand, used physical deformation to the character’s advantage. Watch him in the evergreen - “Alayamani” where he used the wheel chair. In fact so sophisticated was his maneuvering of the wheelchair that it became a part of himself and nobody missed his majestic walk in the film. See him in “Paarthal Pasitheerum” as an injured soldier who has a hop in his walk. In the entire film he never missed the frequency of the hop - even in tight close-up (“Songs: ullam enbathu or pillaikku thanthai oruvan”) the head bumped up and down at the right time! The news of him holding his left hand up much after the movie -“ Bhaagapirivanai” - is a part of film folklore!
You can’t beat Sivaji when it comes to playing musical instruments and look at the range. Contrast his sax in the interlude of “Unnai Onru Ketpen”- Puthiya Paravai” to the nadaswaram in “Thillana Moganambal” or just look at him play the guitar with a breeze in “Naan Kavignanum Ilai - Padithaal Mattum Poduma”. In one instance, when Viswanathan played the piano himself for a song in “Paasa Malar” he was astonished the way Sivaji delivered the piano scene - what Viswanathan saw was not Sivaji, but himself! Sivaji had watched Viswanathan play the piano during the recording and reproduced the act like magic. It is in all probability, that people watching these sequences believed that he and no one else did play that musical instrument!
Never acknowledged as technical genius, in the mould of MGR who was depicted as a cinematic guru, Sivaji had indeed mastered technical nuances in film making by his sheer experience. Fact remains that Sivaji delivered his lengthy dialogue in front of the camera after a cursory glance of dialogue sheets probably due to his photographic memory, present his walk to the chalk marks drawn by the cinematographer to ensure he remained in focus and perhaps closed his dialogue simultaneously! When dubbing became the state-of-the-art in sound engineering, Sivaji could recall his entire stretch of dialogues delivered 6 months back, with the same pause and punch that bewildered men behind the camera. He was indeed a photographer's or an editor's and a director’s delight.
In most accolades to the Chevalier, the historical and mythological roles come into prominence. It is indeed true that many of us till today believe that this was how Kattabomman, V O Chidambaram, Subramaniya Bharathy talked, walked and lived - not to forget the many mythological characters, which any actor of any era would have even made an attempt. Perhaps most actors neither had the guts to perform them nor they dared, or simply kept it out of their range to prevent damage to their image! Despite this, many actors achieved much more status than what Sivaji did in the national arena. Ironically, no one can imagine other actors don the mantle of the great Maratha warrior “Shatrapathi Sivaji”, the very character that rechristened V C Ganesan as Sivaji Ganesan!
Although Sivaji’s prime time ended in the 60s there was that occasional spark in the 70s and 80s that lit up the entire tinsel world. Whether he came in as the Inspector General of Police in “Thangapadakkam” or the Bar-at-law in “Gauravam” or a retired middle class civil servant in “Vietnam Veedu” no one remembers him but those characters. It was unfortunate that producers and directors had commercial propositions overlooking his real value to make blunders like Pilot Premnath, Hitler Umanath, Mirudanga Chakravarthy and Lorry Driver Rajakannu!
Perhaps one cardinal sin Sivaji committed in his entire lifetime was his foray into politics. If there were the brand image consultants of today, they would have rightly advised him to stick to his film career, which could have enlarged his brand equity across the globe! It is presumed he was more thrust into it as a strategy to grab market shares obtained by another matinee idol - MGR. Perhaps it is his fate that he lived in a lifetime that made people draw a parallel with MGR that eventually brought in the MGR-Sivaji divide amongst the film fans. Perhaps his association with one political party invited the wrath of the powers that be in the North Block in the past and Fort St. George in the present. Ultimately, it saddens that he was lured in getting his pet grand-daughter married to a family which conducted the "mother of all marriages", taking the happiness out of his life in his twilight years or perhaps his life itself!
Despite that folly, Sivaji continues to live in the heart of Tamizhars and Tamil speaking people over the globe. Perhaps the right conclusion should be drawn from the caption provided in Sridhar’s film “Nenjirukkum Varai - Till the Heart lives” in the closing shot - it read “Nenjirukkum Varai, unnai maravathiruppom - Thou shall not forget you as long as the heart lives”. The majority of Tamil film fans - past, present and future, know his true value and would always cherish his memory through the characters he played on the silver screen. Actors may come and actors may go, but for the Tamils, there is only one Sivaji!
Adieu Chevalier........your’s was a class act! -------
Ram N Ramakrishnan
e-mail: mirabhag@qatar.net.qa
Box 3212 Doha
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