October dedicated to ‘India’s Marlon Brando’
HE most celebrated actor in South India is no doubt Sivaji Ganesan. Born Villupuram Chinnaiah Ganesan at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, the young Sivaji ran away from home with a touring drama company at seven.
He was obsessed with the street play, Kattabomman, based on freedom fighter Veerapandya Kattabomman, who resisted the British. Sivaji lied that he was an orphan and enrolled with the Madurai Shri Bala Gana Sabha drama troupe, which was touring his home town Trichy at the time.
Thus began his journey to becoming one of the most respected Tamil actors.
Sivaji started his film career in 1950 with the movie, Saraswathi, which was released in 1952.
He went on to make over 400 movies during almost 50 years of acting.
Sivaji’s unique voice and style of dialogue delivery earned him critical acclaim.
He was able to portray a variety of roles with ease. He played the roles of God, kings, paupers, freedom fighters, heroes, police, Casanovas, judges, magistrates, priests, brothers, fathers and landlords and acted in epics, crime thrillers, romantic love stories, action and comedy.
The month of October was declared International Sivaji Ganesan Month on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the actor’s death. In 2006, the South Indian Film Artistes’ Association declared that October 1, Sivaji’s birthday, would be observed as Actors Day, as a tribute to him. In the same year, a statue of him was erected in Chennai and unveiled by the Chief Minister M Karunanidhi. DULQUER Salmaan, who plays veteran star Gemini Ganesan in the upcoming Telugu-Tamil bilingual biopic Mahanati, about the legendary southern actress Savitri, says it has been his desire to be part of a period film.
“Amazing period is being captured in films and even in TV series in the West. For long, I have desired to be part of a AJAY Devgn and former Indian cricket skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni have joined hands for a campaign titled “Burn your Fears”, in which they are urging people to take the first step towards making their dreams come true.
They are also joined by Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj.
A campaign was recently unveiled aimed at inspiring the nation to be fearless.
The celebrities were roped in to take the campaign forward and were seen in a video produced and directed by Star India’s creative team.
Sivaji remains one of the most popular Tamil actors and a survey by popular Tamil magazine, Kumudam, confirmed this. period drama. Unfortunately, in the Malayalam film industry, we don’t have huge budgets to make such films,” Dulquer told IANS.
Talking about the project, Dulquer said he was thrilled to be working with a young team.
“Both the director and the producer are younger than me. It’s a young team with so much energy.” – IANS
It shows these icons taking the first step and revealing how they overcame their fears and fulfilled their potential and dreams. In the promo film, Dhoni talks about how he had to grapple with the security that his job with the Railways entailed and his dream of being a cricketer.
Raj looks back at the time when she was dissuaded from pursuing cricket and Devgn, pictured, talks about how people tried to stop him from undertaking dangerous stunts. – IANS
The Los Angeles Times called him “the Marlon Brando of Indian Cinema”.
After his portrayal of the character of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the stage play Shivaji Kanda Hindu Rajyam, the name Sivaji was conferred on him at a public function presided over by social reformer EV Ramasamy. Sivaji won numerous awards and was honoured at many events. At the Afro-Asian Film Festival in Cairo, Egypt, in 1960, he picked up the best actor award for his role in Veerapandya Kattabomman.
In March 1976, Mauritian Prime Minister Shri Ramagoolam hosted Sivaji as a special guest for their Independence Day celebrations.
During a visit to the US in 1995, Sivaji was made honorary citizen of Columbus City. On the same visit, the mayor of Mount Vernon gave him a special welcome citation and thereafter established the Columbus Tamizh Sangam, with Sivaji as honorary president.
In 1995, he became the first Indian actor to receive the Chevalier National Order of the Legion of Honour from the French government which is for remarkable contributions in the field of arts and literature.
In 1997, the president of India, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, conferred on him the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his contribution to Indian cinema.
Through his movies, he highlighted the causes, trials and tribulations of the Tamil people in Tamil Nadu and contributed immensely to the social upliftment of disadvantaged communities and people.
During the years of sanctions against South Africa, his movies provided glimpses of the life and culture of southern India for the less fortunate who were unable to visit their motherland.
Music and songs from his movies have inspired musicians and singers across the globe, including here at home.