Sivaji Ganesan was unsuccessful in politics, unlike his compatriot M.G. The French government, however, bestowed upon him its highest decoration, Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honour, in 1995. Predictably, the legend rejected the award. The legend was addressed as ‘Nadigar Thilagam’ (literally translated as ‘the pride of actors’) for his all-around acting performance, but ironically, Sivaji did not receive any National Award, except for a Special Jury Mention for a cameo appearance in the Kamal Haasan-starrer ‘Thevar Magan’ released in 1992. His style of dialogue delivery helped him play such mythological and historical characters as Lord Shiva in (‘Thiruvilaiyaadal’), the great Chola emperor in and as ‘Raja Raja Cholan’, the Vaishnavite saint (and one of the 12 Alvars revered in southern India), Periyalvar, in ‘Thirumal Perumal’, and the seventh-century Shaivite saint Appar in ‘Thiruvarutchelvar’. He pioneered an exquisite style, diction, tone and tenor. Sivaji Ganesan was remembered for his extraordinary flair for dialogue delivery. Chidambaram in and as ‘Kappalottiya Thamizhan’ as his most memorable one. Karunanidhi, DMK leader and late former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.Ĭritics have listed several movies as his best, but Sivaji Ganesan himself rated his performance as V.O. The big break for the legendary actor came with the Tamil film, ‘Parasakthi’, directed by Krisnan-Panju and written by M. The name Sivaji became iconic and Ganesan retained the name throughout his extraordinarily brilliant acting carrier. Ganesan’s big break in acting came when he was portraying the Maratha King, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, in the play ‘Sivaji Kanda Samrajyam’, written and directed by the late former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and doyen of Dravidian politics, C.N. He started playing child and female roles at a young age in popular theatre groups, and also trained in three dance forms - Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Manipuri. Ganesan, at Villupuram in the then South Arcot district of Tamil Nadu, Sivaji Ganesan entered the world of theatre at the young age of 7. The Google Doodle, created by a guest artist from Bengaluru, Noopur Rajesh Choksi, has brought back fond memories of the legend, popularly known as the “Marlon Brando of Indian cinema”, who was adored for his performances in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam movies, and also in Sinhalese and Hindi productions.īorn as Villupuram Chinniah Ganesan, or V.C. On Friday, October 1, to celebrate his 93rd birth anniversary, the legendary actor, who was also a recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, the country’s highest award for cinema, has been honoured by Google with a Google Doodle. The innumerable characters he made memorable on-screen gave him a permanent place in the hearts of millions of movie-goers, and he still lives there, 20 years after he passed away on July 21, 2001, at the age of 73. Chennai: Sivaji Ganesan needs no introduction.

Sivaji ganesan age