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Sivaji Ganesan
Sivaji Ganesan (October 1, 1927 - July 21, 2001) was a famous Indian actor and politician. His real name is Villupuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan.
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Biography
Ganesan was born in Sirkali, South Arcot, Tamilnadu, India to his father P. Chinniah Mandraayer and mother Rajamani Ammal.
His popular name is Sivaji Ganesan, and it was given to him by Thanthai Periyar. He is also known as Nadikar thilagam, Nadippu chakravarthy (loosely translated "Emperor among Actors").
Film career
At the age of 9, he was so interested in stage plays that he ran away from home. His mother got him into a famous drama troupe.
His first film was "Parasakthi" in 1952. He has acted in about 300 movies, including nine Telugu movies , one Malayalam movie and two Hindi movies.
Some of his most famous films are:
- Poongothai/Pardesi
- Pempudu Koduku
- Manohara
- Kalvanin Kadhali
- Tenali Raman
- Rangoon Radha
- Makkali Petra Maharasi
- Maragatham
- Motor Sunderam Pillai
- Pasumponn
- Thiruvilayaadal
- Thiruvarutchelvar
- Veerapaandiya Kattabomman
- Kappalotiya Thamizhan
- Karnan
- Navarathiri
- Thillana Mohanaambhal
- Mudal Mariyadai
He was known for his acting qualities such as aptness in applying make-up, physical fitness, and variety in acting and delivery of dialogue.
In 1962, Sivaji Ganesan toured America. There, he was given the honour of being the "mayor" of Niagara City for one day. After Prime Minister Nehru, Sivaji was the only Indian to get this honour.
The Indian Actors' Association President Vijaykanth said that October 1, Sivaji Ganesan's birthday, would be observed as Actors' Day.
Family life
Ganesan married a woman named Kamala (known also as Kamalammal). He had two sons, Ramkumar and Prabhu (who carried on their father's legacy in filmmaking and acting), and two daughters, Shanthi and Thenmozhi.
Awards
- Best Actor Award, Afro-Asian Film Festival, Cairo, Egypt 1960
- Padma Shri Title, 1966
- Padma Vibhushan Title, 1984
- Chevalier dans ordre des Arts et Letters' (Knight of Arts and Letters), 1994
- Dadasaheb Phalke Award, 1996
Political career
Until 1955, he was a staunch D.M.K. party sympathiser. In 1961, he become a strong supporter of the Indian National Congress. In 1982, Indira Gandhi made him Rajya Sabha M.P. After 1987, he came out of Congress and began his own political party (Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani). He became president of Tamilnadu faction of Janata Dal in 1989.
Death
Suffering from respiratory problems, Ganesan was admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Madras on July 12, 2001. He also had been suffering from a prolonged heart ailment for about 10 years.
He died at Apollo Hospital at 7:45pm (IST) on July 21, 2001. He was 74.
Miscellaneous
Sivaji Ganesan erected the statue of Kattabomman at Kayatharu and donated money for the erection of Sivaji Maharaj statue at Bombay.
External links
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