2) 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.
3) How 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.
4) First film : His first film is "Paraasakthi". It was released in the year 1952.
5) 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 revolutionery one in terms
of it's trend- setting nature and it's overall reformative impact on society.
6) 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.
7)Meritorious Awards:
1)
The Best Actor Award won in Afro- Asian Film Festival held in Gairo,
Egypt in 1960.
2)
Padmasri Title - 1966.
5)
Padmabhushan Title - 1984
4)
Chevalier Award of France 1995.
5)
Dadha Saahib Paalkhe Award 1997.
8)Meritorious
Qualities :
1)
Modesty.
2)
Punctuality.
3)
Make-up Aptness and Physical Fitness that suit with 100% exactness any
sort of role from Prince to Beggar and the Rugged Character to the Cultured
Elite!
4)
Infinite Veriety In Acting And Dialogue -Delivery - An Unreachable Feat
by any other World Level Actor.
9)Unique Achievment: The No 1 ranked Actor the World has ever seen.
10) Ambition: Wants to act until the last breath of life and he would be even more happy, he once said, should his physical existence comes to an end while acting.
11) Total Number Of Films: Around 300
12) Mother Tongue: Tamil
13) Native Place: Villupuram, a small town in South Arcot district, in Tamilnadu, India.
14) Academic Education: III std, at the preliminary level of school education.
15) Father's Name: P.Chinniah Mandraayer. Though poor was very rich in his sprit of patriotism! Was imprisoned many number of times for his continued support and participation in the then Indian Freedom Stuggle under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Jail become his second home.
16) Mother's Name: Rajamani Ammal. While her husband was in prison she had to undergo all sorts of hardships to feed her children and maintain the family.Lack of food made them at times to forgo food.
17) Marriage: Married Kamala, already a relative of him, who was a resident of Nagappattinam near Trichirappalli, Tamilnadu. This couple begot two male children later named Ramkumar and Prabhu, and two female ones Shanthi and Thenmozhi. Today all the four are married. Ramkumar looks after and manages Sivaji Films. Prabhu has become one of the busiest, leading heroes of Tamil Cinema.
18)
Political Affiliations: From his first
film onwards he was considered to be a staunch D.M.K. party sympathiser.
After 1955 some dramatic changes took place. He was a neutralist for some
years.
But at the end of 1961 he become a strong supporter of Congress Party.
In that year he took part and delivered an address in the state Congress
party Conference in which the then Prime Minister Pandid Jawaharlal Nehru
and Kamarajar were the main participants. In 1982 Mrs.Indira Gandhi made
him the Rajya sabha M.P. After 1687 came out of Congress and floated his
own Political Party. 2 years latter became President of Tamilnadu
faction of Janata Dal. After a few years he quit politics.
19)
Honours Bestowed Upon Sivaji Ganesan:
In 1962 Sivaji Ganesan toured America as its Special Guest. There, he was
given one of the highest houours of being the Mayor of Niagara City
for one day. After Prime Minister Nehru, Sivaji was the only Indian to
get this honour.
In Hollywood he met world famous actors like Marlon Brando and some
leading Cinema technicians.
Egyptian President Naasar, Singapore former Prime Minister, Ceylon President
Chandrika, Indian former Prime Ministers Nehru, Indra Gandhi, V.P. Singh,
former President Dr. Radhakirishnan, former Governer -General Rajaji, former
Chief Ministers Kamarajar and Annadurai, Present Chief Minister Kalaignar
Karunanidhi, Ex-Chief Ministers M.G.R., RamaRao and Jayalalitha were not
only his associates but his very great admirers too!