Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan Part 17

[Russellbpw]

நாட்கள், மாதங்கள், வருடங்கள் ஒவ்வொன்றும் கடக்கும்போது மனிதனின் சூழலும், மனநிலையும் வெகுவாக மாறுபடுகின்றதை நாம் காண்கிறோம்.

1970 களில் இருந்த குணங்கள் 80 களில் இல்லை...80 களில் உள்ளது இப்போது இல்லவே இல்லை. சகிப்பு தன்மையும் மனிதர்கள் மத்தியில் குறைந்துகொண்டுவருவதர்க்கு நிறைய உதாரணங்கள் நாட்டில் நடைபெறுகின்றன. இந்த நாடு என்றில்லை...எந்த நாட்டிலும் அதே தான் நிலைமை.

கற்கால மனிதன் நாகரீகம் என்ற நிலைக்கு வந்தபோது....போதை, பேதை களுக்கு அடிமையாகி தனது நிலை மறந்து ...மனிதன் என்ற நிலை போய் போக போக கற்கால மனிதனாக மாறும் அபாயம் இருக்கதான் செய்கிறது.

இயற்கையும் அதன் சீற்றத்தை அவ்வப்போது வெளிபடுத்துகிறது ! குரங்கில் இருந்து பிறந்தவன் மனிதன்....காலம் செல்ல செல்ல மனிதனில் இருந்து குரங்காக மாறுவானோ மனிதன் ?

குண நலன்களை சித்தரிக்கும் பாடல் நடிகர் திலகம் அவர்கள் நடித்த லட்சுமி கல்யாணம் திரைப்படத்தில் இருந்து -
யாரடா மனிதன் அங்கே ...கூட்டிவா அவனை இங்கே...இறைவன் படைத்த படைப்பில் குரங்குதான் நீயும் இங்கே என்ற பாடல் !

[Russellbpw]

போதைக்கு மனிதன் அடிமையாகும் போது போகவேண்டிய பாதையை மறக்கிறான் ! குடிப்பவன் பேச்சு விடிஞ்சா போச்சு என்ற பழமொழி எழுதும் அளவிற்கு இந்த பழக்கம் எவ்வளவு தீமையானது என்பது விளங்கும். சொன்ன சொல் நினைவில் இருக்காது..செய்த செயல் மனதில் தங்காது இப்படி சொல்லிக்கொண்டே போகலாம் ...ஒவொரு மனிதன் வாழ்கையிலும் ஒவ்வொரு போதை ...சிலருக்கு புகழ் போதை...சிலருக்கு பண போதை...சிலருக்கு குண போதை ...சிலருக்கு பாவை மீது போதை...மற்றும் ஒரு சிலருக்கோ போதையின் மீதே போதை !

சந்தோஷம் வந்தால் தேடுவது போதை...துக்கம் வந்தா தேடுவது போதை ...எரிச்சல் வந்தால் தேடுவது போதை....கோபம் வந்தால் ஓடிபோய் தேடுவது போதை.....மொத்தத்தில் பல தவறான பாதைக்கு அடித்தளமாய் அமைவது போதை.....!

நாளை முதல் குடிக்க மாட்டேன் சத்தியமடி தங்கம்....- குடிகாரன் பேச்சு விடிஞ்சால் போச்சோ ? என்பதை உணர்த்தும் பாடல் !



CONSUMING ALCOHOL & DRUGS IN ANY FORM IS INJURIOUS TO MANKIND !

[Russellbpw]

The Stylist Forever
The Tamil chevalier leaves behind him a kaleidoscope of characters and emotions
Kamal Haasan on Sivaji Ganesan



Sivaji saab is the genetic code embedded in every Tamil actor.
Even if we try to be independent, the dna imprint remains.
For 48 years, Tamils have been under the spell of Sivaji.

He had a large heart—that was his medical problem too. We had almost given up on him in 1993 when the doctors gave him just two years. We took him to France, did everything we could. He survived his heart ailment for 15 years. But for his ill-health, he would have been active even in the last four years.

Sivaji was style personified—he would not take it off like a shirt. He slept in style; woke up in style; came to work in style. He was style. He was the trendsetter. And I'm proud to be his descendant.

My association with him dates back to my childhood. I was about four years old when we met in the studios. Once, he even said how I might have sat on his lap more than his children. He would always be in the studios then. I was the vidushak who would be made to recite Sivaji sir's dialogues on the sets.

Sivakumar, a fellow-actor, and I used to have sessions where we competed over narrating his dialogues. We would compete over who remembered more. That's the kind of effect he has.

Even for the present generation, Sivaji is the man. Upcoming artists are told, "Become an actor like Sivaji." Even for my children, he is the ultimate.

As for criticism that Sivaji overacted or was loud, why don't these westernized critics look at Akira Kurosawa's films? We have a certain style that is rooted here.
We have either actors or non-actors. The Japanese never compromised to suit European tastes and I respect them. So much so that Hollywood went on to adapt/remake Japanese films. This is part of an Asian aesthetic. Sivaji too has to be translated for a western audience.

For that matter, even the early Chaplin was "loud". And so were Hollywood stars of the early black-and-white era. We are more willing to learn and try hard to appreciate an Elvis Presley but not our own icons. If Elvis spawned a thousand clones in the West, so did Sivaji here. He is our Elvis. He is the King.

Now, an Indian funeral is itself so different—there's so much emotion, so many tears, such drama.
A European funeral is such a contrast. There's great restraint. Even the sorrow is muted.

Sivaji's acting is as much a part of our culture.

But see how Sivaji in Thevar Magan turns a new leaf. Here, the actor steps out of his era. And Thevar Magan was my kind of salute to a doyen.

Personally, I can't be critical of Sivaji sir. I have been so close to him and such an admirer, I cannot be alive to his faults, if any. I lose my critical faculties. He's been a goading force, other than a guiding force. I am utterly biased about him and there's no scholar left in me.

Sivaji has been such a challenge that it makes an actor ask himself, "What's the use of being born after him?" With Sivaji, you touch base.

The only thing Sivaji perhaps regretted was that he was not well-read like me. He lacked the vocabulary, he felt. That was his modesty. "I'm just a school dropout," he once said at a function. On the other hand, I have the dubious distinction of having uttered dialogues, even reciting poetry, in Telugu, Malayalam and other tongues. But I cannot read any of these languages.

Whereas Sivaji was the master when it came to Tamil. Nobody could match up to him. Once, when I was a child actor, I could not pronounce arisi (Tamil for rice) correctly and he would intone it like me and make fun. He was the master of Tamil diction.

As a politician, Sivaji failed. He was too straightforward. He never asked for favours, and was not clever or even wise in politics. Sivaji behaved like a king even in politics. I differed with Sivaji's political beliefs, but that would not in any way lessen my regard for him. And whatever their political differences, Karunanidhi and Sivaji made for a great artistic duo. (Karunanidhi scripted Sivaji's debut film Parasakthi and many more.) If one was the mind, the other was the voice.

The irony is Sivaji gave me an opportunity to rehearse the death scene in real life. After Thevar Magan, where we did a death scene, I received news from Singapore that he had passed away during a function there. I was so shaken and went through such emotions, and I was only a happy fool the next morning to realise that the news was wrong. But this time it was for real.

[Russellbpw]

Sivaji Ganesan: Tamil cinema’s versatile actor par excellence



The first Tamil film which impacted on me greatly during childhood was ‘Veera Pandiya Kattabomman’. It was a kind of bio-picture about a ‘Paalayakkaaran’ or Polygar (feudal chieftain) who defied the British during the last decade of the 18th Century and paid the supreme penalty. Kattabomman whose full name was Veera Pandiya Kattabomma Karuthaiyya Nayakkar governed an area known as Paanchaalankurichi which is in the Thoothukkudi District of Tamil Nadu state in India.

I was five years old when I first saw the film with my parents . The upper portions of the theatre were encased in hardboard, resembling the structure of a fortress. There were two cut-outs on either side of two men with upraised swords on horses. In the middle was another cut-out of a man literally taking a bull by its horns. The two horsemen were Kattabomman played by the actor Sivaji Ganesan and his brother Kumaraswamy alias Ommaithurai played by OAK Devar. The man taming the bull was Vellaiyhathevan, the commander of Kattabomman’s forces. The actor was Gemini Ganesan.

My family was living in Hulftsdorp then. The film which played at Elphinstone, Maradana moved on to Gaiety, Kotahena. I can recall seeing the film four times at Elphinstone and twice at Gaiety. This was because several relatives and family friends took me along when they went to see the film as those in our family circle knew how crazy I was about this particular film Kattabomman. Even in later years I never missed seeing it when an old print was screened in a theatre. Nowadays in Canada I have a DVD of the film which I view occasionally if not regularly.



The magic of the movie


The magic of the movie to me at that time was the portrayal of Kattabomman by the doyen of Tamil actors, Sivaji Ganesan. The highlight of that performance was the powerful delivery of fiery dialogue by the film hero Kattabomman played by Sivaji. I memorised the dialogue (written by Sakthi T.K. Krishnasamy) from ‘Veera Pandiya Kattabomman’ in those days and repeated them with appropriate mannerisms to entertain family, relatives, classmates and friends.

Two remarkable passages lingering in memory still are the verbal duels between Kattabomman and Jackson (played by C.R. Parthiban) and Kattabomman and Bannerman (played by Javer Seetharaman). Unlike most of the actors seen in the Tamil films of today, Sivaji Ganesan spoke Tamil on screen the way the mellifluous, vibrant language should be spoken. It is no exaggeration to say that he was the role model for many of my generation in pronouncing Tamil dialogue in dramas.

It is in this context of reviving memories about the first Tamil film to impact upon me greatly that I focus the ‘Spotlight’ this time on its hero Sivaji Ganesan, about whom I have written extensively in the past. The man regarded as the greatest thespian of post-Independence Tamil cinema passed away on 21 July 2001, three months short of his 73rd birthday. Though known as Sivaji, that was not his real name. It was a name bestowed upon him for playing the role of Sivaji in a popular drama.


No stranger to Sri Lanka


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 the films ‘Pilot Premnath’ and ‘Mohanapunnagai’ starring Sivaji were shot in Sri Lankan locales with Sri Lankan artistes Malani Fonseka and Geetha Kumarasinghe in the lead female roles.

‘Pilot Premnath’ in 1978 was an Indo-Sri Lankan co-production directed by A.C. Trilokachander. Shot in many scenic places in Sri Lanka, the film had a lively Baila type song ‘Udarata Menike’ sung in lilting tones by L.R. Easwari and A.E. Manoharan, which had audiences’ foot-tapping in India and Sri Lanka. But the most popular song was ‘Ilankayin Ilankuyil’ (the young cuckoo of Sri Lanka) with Vani Jayaram lending her voice to Malani, and T.M. Soundararajan voicing for Sivaji. Music was by M.S. Viswanathan. Shot in Eastman colour, this film was about an Air Ceylon pilot and his family. It ran for more than 100 days both in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.

‘Mohana Punnagai’ starring Sivaji Ganesan and Geetha Kumarasinghe was made in 1981.
The film directed by C.V. Sridhar did well in Sri Lanka but had an average run in Tamil Nadu despite the fact that it had Sivaji in the lead.
The beautiful song sequence picturised on Geetha bathing in a waterfall-stream with Sivaji taking photos from different angles was unforgettable.
The song ‘Thennilankai Mangai’ (south Sri Lanka maiden) is sung by S. Janaki to music composed by M.S. Viswanathan.

P.K. Balachandran, the ‘New Indian Express’ Correspondent in Colombo, in a recent article interviewed both Malani and Geetha about Sivaji Ganesan. Here are excerpts:

“Sivaji Ganesan was a great actor and a great human being too,” enthused Malani Fonseka, who was his leading lady in the 1978 Tamil blockbuster Pilot Premnath. “It was Sivaji who urged me to become a producer. He would say ‘Malani, you should make a No. 1 Sri Lankan creation,’” Malani disclosed. “A warm and friendly man, Sivaji introduced me to his wife and children and invited me for dinner at his house. I was very happy to work with him. In fact, it was an honour to work with him,” Malani said in a fulsome tribute to the thespian, who is no more.

Geetha Kumarasinghe, the Lankan leading lady of yore, who was paired with the Tamil thespian in Mohana Punnagai (1981) directed by C.V. Sridhar, said Sivaji was a thorough gentleman. “We got along very well even though he was in his fifties and I was only 26. He was very knowledgeable, not just on film making, but about many other subjects, though he had not gone to any university,” Geetha recalled. Geetha said she got offers from Madras film makers after Mohana Punnagai but could not take them because she got married.



Sivaji Ganesan’s acting career

Sivaji Ganesan’s 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.
Despite achieving stupendous success on the screen, Sivaji remained faithful to his first love, the stage, and acted in plays for decades.
With more than 300 film roles to his credit, he inspired a whole generation of artistes, virtually creating a new school of acting.

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.

Villupuram Chinniah Ganesan, or V.C. Ganesan, was born on 1 October 1928, in Vizhuppuram, which was then in the Arcot District of the former Madras Presidency. His parents were Chinnaiapillai Mandrayer, a railway employee and freedom fighter, and Rajamani, in whose name he was to launch later a successful film company, Rajamani Pictures. Ganesan belonged to the Kallar division of the Mukkulathor caste. His ancestors hailed from Soorakkottai in Thanjavoor district.

Smitten by a street drama about Kattabomman, the feudal Polagar of Panchalan-kurichi who fought the British, young Ganesan became enamoured of acting and abandoned school when he was in Class Two. Forsaking home, he along with his boyhood chum “Kaka” Radhakrishnan (veteran comedian who passed away in 2012) 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 Indhu Rajyam’ written by Dravida Kazhagham and later Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 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.

Big break

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.

There were many notable films where his remarkably resonating dialogue delivery delighted and enthralled fans. Starting from his brilliant debut in ‘Parasakthi,’ film after film made indelible impressions in this regard.

Thirumbipaar, Manohara,
Thookkuthookki ,
Illara Jyothi,
Anbu,
Rajarani,
Ethirpaaraathathu,
Annayin Aanai,
Kuravanji,
Maruthanaatu Veeran,
Ambikapathy,
Veera Pandiya Kattabomman,
Kappalotiya Thamizhan, Paasamalar, Aalayamani, Karnan, Thiruvilaiyaadal, Saraswathi Sabatham, Kandan Karunai, Thirumaal Perumai, Sivantha Mann, Gauravam, Rajaraja Chozhan, Thangapathakkam, etc., are but some of the films remembered still for the Sivaji’s sparkling

‘vasanam’.

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 but 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 and Enga Oor Raja in dual roles, and Thrishoolam, Deiva Magan and Bale Pandiya in which he did three roles each.

From god and king to commoner

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 Padmanadha Aiyer in Vietnam Veedu, Barrister Rajanikanth in Gauravam and Police Superintendent Chaudhury in Thangapadhakkam.

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,’ 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. T.M. Soundarajan’s voice suited Sivaji most. Sivaji’s own voice was woven into songs at times. Two memorable songs are ‘Vannathamizh Pennoruthi Vandhaal’ by C.S. Jayaraman in Paavai Vilakku and ‘Thendrolodu Udan Piranthaal Senthamizh Pennaal’ by T.R. Mahalingam in Rajarajachozhan. There is also ‘Poatrippaaradi Pennae|in “Devar Magan’.

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. Sivaji himself paid tribute to L.V. Prasad saying it was Prasad who taught him the rudiments of acting for the camera.

"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 the films ‘Pilot Premnath’ and ‘Mohanapunnagai’ starring Sivaji were shot in Sri Lankan locales with Sri Lankan artistes Malani Fonseka and Geetha Kumarasinghe in the lead female roles

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"

Sivaji’s chief lead actor contemporaries were “puratchi nadigar” M.G. Ramachandran (MGR), his namesake Gemini Ganesan (kadhal Mannan) and “ilatchiya nadigar” S.S. Rajendran (SSR). The only film he acted together with MGR was the controversial ‘Koondukkili’ by T.R. Ramanna. With Gemini he acted in many hits like Pennin Perumai, Pathi Bhakthi, Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Paarthaal Pasi Theerrum, Paasamalar, Pandha Pasam, Kappalottiya Thamizhan, Saraswathy Sabatham, Thiruvarutselvar and Unakkaaha Naan. He also acted with SSR in films like Parasakthi, Rajarani, Aalayamani, Shanthi, Pachai Vizhakku, Pzhani, Kaikodutha Deivam, etc

His younger son Prabhu known as “Ilaya Thilagham” has also made his mark in films as an actor. Prabhu was a very successful hero in the eighties and nineties with many of his movies breaking box office records. Sivaji’s elder son Ramkumar keeps the home production company Sivaji films ticking. The box-office record breaking ‘Chandramukhi’ starring Rajnikanth was their production. Now Prabu’s son and Sivaji’s grandson Vikram Prabu too has begun acting and done well in films like ‘Kumki’ and ‘Arima nambi’.

Sivaji’s tragedy

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 the greatest actor of Tamil cinema never won an Indian national award for best actor. He was conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke lifetime achievement award for meritorious service to Indian cinema in 1997.The Tamil 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.
In Sri Lanka he received the title ‘Kalaikkurusil’ from the then Radio Ceylon.

Sivaji Ganesan passed away at a Chennai hospital on 21 July 2011.

Although the brightest star in the Tamil film firmament is no more, Sivaji Ganesan’s films are there to provide pleasure to his fans and keep his memory alive.

[Russellbpw]

Sivaji Ganesan - World's best actor for a reason..


ORIGINAL NAME :

Vettaithidal Chinnaiahpillai "Sivaji" Ganesan

POPULAR NAME :

SIVAJI GANESAN -- the title "Sivaji" was given to Ganesan by the great Rationlist,Thanthai Periyar E.V.R.Ramasamy for his best performance in the role of Sathrapathy Sivaji in the stage play "Sivaji kanda Indu Saamraajyam" in the year 1946.

HOW TO BECAME AN ACTOR

When he was 9 years old he ran away from his house. Nobody knew his whereabouts. After many days his mother and elder brother happened to trace him at a place near Trichirapalli where "Kampalaththaan Kooththu" a popular folk drama was taking place. Kattabomman's story was being enacted on stage in that Kooththu. Ganesan was very much interested in that particular drama. Even at that small age he had vowed that one day he would become an actor and do Kattabomman's role on stage.
Ganesan's mother brought him back to their house. She arranged through her elder son to get a placement for Ganesan in one of the popular drama troupes. Thus Ganesan first became a stage actor.


FIRST FILM

His first film is "Paraasakthi". It was released in the year 1952.

GREAT TURNING POINT

"Parasakthi" was a great turning point not only in Sivaji Ganesan's acting Career but also for the entire Tamil Cinema Field. Before that there were mainly either Raja Rani Stories or religious and mythological stories with a number of songs which had great sway among Tamil Cinema audience.

But "Paraasakthi" was a social film with revolutionery themes and lesser number of songs. More over the heart - catching, fiery dialogue by Kalaingar Karunanidhi made the film a super revolutionary one in terms of it's trend- setting nature and it's overall reformative impact on society.



MILESTONES

The Greatest Merit of Sivaji Ganesan is that no other actor either in Tamil Cinema or Indian Film Industry or in the whole-world has done such a great number of roles and acted in such a great varieties of roles depicting real life- like characters on screen and no other actor's acting carreer is so much saturated with such a great number of milestones in terms of unimaginable achievements as in that of Sivaji Ganesan.

LIST OF MOVIES HE ACTED


CIVILIAN HONOURS – NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

1. 1966 – Padma Shri from the Government of India
2. 1984 – Padma Bhushan from the Government of India
3. 1995 – Chevalier awarded by the National Order of the Legion of Honour of France. On 22 April 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.

INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

He is first Indian actor to get the best actor award from a Asia-Afro film festival 1960 – Best Actor in Asia – Africa Continent Award at the Afro-Asian Film Festival for Veerapandiya Kattabomman.

OTHER INTERNATIONAL HONORS

1. 1960 – One Day Mayor for the city of Niagara Falls and was presented with the Golden Key of Cairo.
Pandit Jawaharlal is the only person besides Mr. Ganesan getting this honor

2. 1964 – Cultural Ambassador of India invited by John F. Kennedy under the Cultural Exchange Programme

3. 1991 – Citizenship in the Columbia, USA by the Government of United States

NATIONAL FILM AWARDS

1. 1992 – National Film Award – Special Jury Award for Thevar Magan
2. 1996 – Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

FILMFARE AWARDS - SOUTH

1. 1972 – Best Tamil Actor Award for Gnana Oli
2. 1973 – Best Tamil Actor Award for Gauravam
3. 1985 – Best Tamil Actor Award for Muthal Mariyathai
4. 1985 - Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South

OTHER HONOURS

1. 1986 – Honorary doctorate from the Annamalai University
2. 1997 – Kalaimamani from the Government of Tamil Nadu
3. 1998 – NTR National Award from the Government of Andhra Pradesh

POSTHUMOUS HONOURS

1) Pondicherry (Puducherry) was the first state to erect a statue of Sivaji Ganesan in honour of his acting skills and his huge fan base in the state.
2) 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 in 2006.
3) The South Indian Film Artistes' Association as a tribute to Ganesan, declared that 1 October, the birth day of Sivaji Ganesan, would be observed as Actors' Day by the association Chennai film industry

ANOTHER FEATHER TO SIVAJI’S HAT

When actor Marlon Brando visited India, he was shown the film footages of Sivaji Ganesan. From then on Brando has admired Sivaji Ganesan for his acting style. Brandon said "Sivaji Ganesan may act like me but I cannot act like Sivaji Ganesan

A GREAT LOSS TO TAMIL CINEMA

Sivaji, who had been suffering from a heart ailment, was moved to the intensive care unit after renal complications also set in and his condition became critical.On 21 july 2001 at the age of 72 the legend of tamil cinema said good bye to his life, leaving the whole tamil industry and his fans in huge grievance. Thousands of people gathered at his home as well as for his funeral.

Finally in a nutshell , if all Tamil artistes were placed on one scale and Sivaji, on the other, he would still outweigh them .

This proves the acting skill of Sivaji Ganesan and the fame he acclaimed in the film industry.

REGARDS
RKS

[Russellxor]

[Russellxor]

[Russellxor]

[Russellxor]

முரளி சார் தகவலில் முரண் இருந்தால் விளக்கவும்.
(சிந்தாமணி -211நாள்)

[Russellxor]