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Sivaji Ganesan

Personal Profile

Sivaji Ganesan
  • Birth Name:
    Viluppuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan
  • Common Name:
    Nadigar Thilagam
  • Nickname:
    The Marlon Brando of South Indian Cinema
  • Date of Birth:
    October 1, 1927
  • Zodiac Sign:
    Libra
  • Place of Birth:
    Viluppuram, Tamil Nadu
  • Place of Death:
    Chennai, India
  • Date of Death:
    July 21, 2001
  • Cause of Death:
    Respiratory Problem
  • Sex:
    Male
  • Nationality:
    Indian

Family

Sivaji Ganesan
  • Father:
    Chinnaiahpillai
  • Mother:
    Rajamani Ammal
  • Spouse:
    Kamala Ganesan
  • Son:
    Ramkumar Ganesan , Prabhu Ganesan
  • Daughter:
    Shanthi Ganesan , Thenmozhi Ganesan

Career

Sivaji Ganesan
  • Profession:
    Actor
  • Claim to Fame:
    Paladai
    Kandan Karunai
    Paladai
    Padaiyappa
    Once More
    Knock Out
    Agni Putrudu
  • Debut:
    Parasakthi (Tamil) 1952

Favourites

Sivaji Ganesan
  • Food:
    Tandoori Chicken
  • Actor:
    Amitabh Bachan, Dilip Kumar, Rishi Kapoor, Amir Khan, Akshay Kumar
  • Actress:
    Mumtaz

Awards

Sivaji Ganesan
1959: Afro-Asian Film Festival Best Actor Award
1966: Padma Shri
1984: Padma Bhushan
1993: National Film Award - Special Jury Award for Thevar Magan
1995: Chevalier (Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France)
1996: Dadasaheb Phalke Award

Trivia

Sivaji Ganesan
  • Had started in many films with his father in supporting roles during the 1980s.
  • The former South Indian Film Artistes' Association president Vijayakanth declared that October 1, the birth day of Ganesan, would be observed as Actors' Day in the Chennai film industry.
  • In 1976, Sivaji Ganesan was honoured with the Padma Shri and in 1984, Sivaji Ganesan was conferred the Padma Bhushan in recognition of his many contributions to cinema and philanthropy.
  • During a visit to the US in June 1995, Sivaji Ganesan found himself in Columbus, Ohio. Mayor Greg Lashutka named him honorary citizen of Columbus at a special dinner.
  • During a visit to the USA in 1962, he was named honorary mayor of Niagara City for a day and presented with a key to the city -- the only Indian besides Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to receive the honour.
  • He could only estimate the number of films he appeared in - 170 to 300.
  • One of his many awards (many for humanitarian activites), he received the Chevalier, the Order of Arts and Literature ('Chevalier dans ordre des Arts et Letters') by the Ministry of Culture, Government of France (it's highest civilian award), in 1995 for his contributions in the field of Arts and Literature in France and all over the world.
  • Was awarded Dadasaheb Phalke award by the Government of India for his outstanding contribution to Indian Cinema.

Biography

Sivaji Ganesan
Last Updated: Monday, May 18, 2009

Tamil superstar from a poor family in Tamil Nadu, India. His father worked on the railways. On the day of his birth his father, Chiniah Pillai, follower of Mahatma Gandhi, was jailed for participating in the Independence movement in Nellikuppam (Tamil Nadu, India). He was frequently in and out of jail, and was raised by his mother, Rajamani Ammal. He joined theatre groups when he was young. He earned his screen name 'Sivaji' after acting in C.N. Annadurai's play 'Sivaji Kanda Indhu Rajyam', a historical play on the Maratha Emperor Shivaji. He made his film debut in Parasakthi (1952) as Gunasekharan. He became an icon of the DMK party who made DMK films (founded by C.M. Annadurai).

He entered politics in the mid-50s where he joined the Congress party and then defected to support the opposition Janata Dal. He is most well know for his mythological and patriotic portrayals, like in his most famous films like Karnan(mythological) and Veerapandiya Kattabomman (patriotic). His main rival was MGR (M.G. Ramachandran) and together they dominated the Tamil film industry in the 1960s and 70s.

Filmography

Sivaji Ganesan

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