Musicians - Sivaji Ganesan

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	Musicians - Sivaji Ganesan

Sivaji Ganesan (October 1, 1927 - July 21, 2001) was a famous Indian actor and politician. His real name was Villupuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan.

Biography

Ganesan was born in Sirkali, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India. His parents were P. Chinniah Mandraayer and Rajamani Ammal.

The name 'Sivaji' was given to him by Thanthai Periyar after watching his excellent stage performance as Emperor Shivaji. He is also known as Nadikar thilagam, Nadippu chakravarthy (loosely translated "Acting Emperor"), The Marlon Brando of South Indian Cinema.

Family life

Ganesan was married to Kamala (known also as Kamalammal). His two sons, Ramkumar and Prabhu carry on their father's legacy in filmmaking and acting. His two daughters are 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 Lettres' (Knight of Arts and Letters), 1994
Dadasaheb Phalke Award, 1996

Film career

At the age of 9, Ganeshan was so interested in stage plays that he ran away from home to pursue a career in theatre. His mother helped him get into a famous drama troupe.

Ganesan's first film was Parasakthi in the year 1952. He has acted in about 300 movies, including nine Telugu movies, two Malayalam movies and two Hindi movies.

Notable Films

Poongothai/Pardesi
Pempudu Koduku
Manohara
Kalvanin Kadhali
Tenali Raman
Rangoon Radha
Makkali Petra Maharasi
Maragatham
Motor Sunderam Pillai
Rajaraja Cholan
Pasumponn
Thiruvilayaadal
Thiruvarutchelvar
Veerapaandiya Kattabomman
Kappalotiya Thamizhan
Karnan
Navarathiri
Thillana Mohanaambhal
Mudal Mariyadai
Gyana Oli
Paasa Malar
Vietnam Colony
Thevar Magan
Padayappa

Political career

Until 1955, Ganesan was a staunch sympathiser of the D.M.K. party. In 1961, he become a strong supporter of the Indian National Congress. In 1982, Indira Gandhi made him a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. After 1987, came out of Congress and floated his own political party (Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani). He became president of Tamil Nadu faction of Janata Dal in 1989. His political career was rather unsuccessful unlike his highly successful acting career.

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

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, Ganesan toured the U.S.A, where he was given the honour of being the mayor of Niagara City for one day. He along with the former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru were the only two Indians to be honoured this way.
During a visit to the U.S.A in June 1995, Sivaji Ganesan found himself in Columbus, Ohio. Mayor Greg Lashutka named him honorary citizen of Columbus at a special dinner.
The South Indian Film Artistes' Association President Vijaykanth declared that October 1, the birth day of Ganesan, would be observed as Actors' Day in Kollywood.
Ganesan erected the statue of Kattabomman at Kayatharu
Donated money and Modelled for the erection of Shivaji Maharaj statue at Mumbai.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Sivaji Ganesan ]

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