Google pays tribute- Today’s Google Doodle (October 1, 2021), illustrated by Bangalore-based guest artist Noopur Rajesh Choksi, celebrated the 93rd birthday of Sivaji Ganesan, one of the method’s early Indian actors and widely regarded as one of the nation’s most influential players of all time.
Villupuram Chinniah Ganesan, alias V.C. Ganesan, was born October 1, 1928, in Villupuram, South Arcot district of Tamil Nadu, Chinnaiah, railroad worker and freedom fighter, and Rajamani.
At the age of 7, he left the family home and joined a theater company, where he began to play the roles of children and women, then lead roles. The first milestone of his career was his portrayal of the warrior Maratha Sivaji in the drama Sivaji Kanda Samrajyam written by the founder of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam CN Annadurai, who became the chief minister of Tamil Nadu in 1967. Sivaji’s name became iconic and Ganesan has worn the crown throughout his extraordinary film career.
The big break in Sivaji’s career came in 1952, when he played the role of the hero in Parasakthi, a movie directed by Krishnan-Panju and written by DMK frontman Mr. Karunanidhi.(Google pays tribute)
Sivaji had an extraordinary flair for delivering dialogue. He pioneered exquisite style, diction, tone and tenor.
Playing a wide range of characters, from God and King to the commoner, there wasn’t one role the comedian didn’t play on screen.
Critics list several films as his best in terms of performance. However, according to the actor, his best career has been Kappalottiya Thamizhan, who chronicles the life of a freedom fighter, V.O. Chidambaram.
Whether it is the historical Emperor of Grand Chola of Raja Raja Cholan, Lord Shiva (in Thiruvilaiyaadal), Saint Saivite Appar (Thiruvarutchelvar), Saint Vaishnavite Periyaalvar (Thirumal Perumai) or Tamil poet in Ambigapathy, Sivaji was always at his best. He was equally splendid in contemporary roles and stereotypes, making every performance one to remember. While many would see him as an actor known for his theatrical performances, his natural acting could be seen in classic films like Thillana Moganambal, Kai Kodutha Dheivam, Ooty Varai Uravu and more.
He later adopted the films of newage directors. Her role in the middle-aged romantic drama in Bharatiraaja’s Muthal Mariyadhai in 1985 won her general appreciation. (Google pays tribute)
It was considered a great injustice that the legendary actor hailed as “Nadigar Thilagam” never won a national award for best actor. It was his cameo role in Kamal Haasan-starrer Thevar Magan, released in 1992, that won him the Special National Jury Prize in 1993. (Sivaji, incidentally, declined the award.) In 1995, France awarded him its highest decoration, Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur. At the end of his career, the Indian government awarded him the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1997, India’s highest distinction in the field of cinema.
Bungalow No.17 at Chevaliar Sivaji Ganesan Road, where the star resided in the heart of T. Nagar, Chennai, has been named “Annai Illam”. The property, where his family continues to reside, was purchased seven years after his debut in Parasakthi.
