Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan

**joe** · 25th February 2006, 12:20 PM

Thanks Prabhuram!

**Google Adsense** · 25th February 2006 12:20 PM

**tacinema** · 25th February 2006, 12:31 PM

** copy: ref best actor ever in tamil cinema **

Joe: I like your postings, but it is better that we can combine all those materials and release them as a book. There are plenty of materials about Sivaji available in the open market, which should be collected and made as a book. We need to preserve those treasures and the future tamil cinema needs them. The man who created and made history in tamil cinema should be given proper place in the history.

Thirumaran: I appreciate you dissected my posting and tried to analyze it. But I am afraid to say that your arguments are not correct. First, kamal fans should learn to agree their idol mistakes. IF you take a close look at my posting, I said some of 80s Sivaji's movies were crap. I know they were not Sivaji's quality. A bad movie is a bad movie, no matter however you tried to convice me, period. If you say Kamal's MExpress/Sankar lal/managamma sabatham/kadal meengal/enakkul oruvan/neeyaa etc. are good, then no body in the world is going to agree either with you or with any other kamal fans. Also, you are falling flat on your own argument. If you say that you haven't seen VPkattabooman in full, then you should not argue with me. When I say that sivaji made history with his first movie, then you come back and tell me that Sivaji was lucky. Luck was no factor for his unbelievable success in his first movie. His sheer hard work and dedication made it. His punctuality made it. Sivaji's punctuality, hard work and dedication are well known in film world. FYI: Karnan was not a flop movie. To know more about Karnan's run, search in Google and find out or refer old Saradha's posting.

All Kamal Fans: When you open a thread "for best actor", discuss only acting department or anything appears directly on screen. Not dialogue writing, singing, camera, direction, and so on, they are background jobs. If you are going to combine all under acting department, then only T.Rajendar/K.Bhagyaraj could compete. Again, in each of these "other" departments, they are other better qualified people around. Also, can someone tell me what is an experimental movie? Cinema itself is an experimental/dream world. Just because Kamal's movies are different, it does not mean they are experimental. If that is the case, all Cheran movies should come under "experimental" category. Again, SOME (not all) of kamal movies are direct copy of hollywood movies and you should not classify them as experiements.

Remember Sivaji was a director's actor. With that restriction he gave mind boggling movies. He was given different assignments such as freedom fighter, lawyer, police officer, family man, father, slave, poor, rich, egoistic person, emotional guy,womenizer, lover, comedy, love failure and he amazingly portrayed each of these and made them history. This was in straight contrast to his arch rival MGR, who, in most part, acted as savior of poor people. This is what I mean subtle performance. Sivaji was not only successful in performance, but he was commercially blockbuster. Don't you guys now agree that Kamal or any other actor is still struggling in performance compared to N.Thilagam?

When it comes to Sivaji's movies, it is just sivaji movie. The director/comedian are immaterial. He is the only pillar in his movie, he and only he was considered. If you look at his block busters such as vasantha maaligai, the movie did not have comedy part (though Nagesh is there). Just Sivaji lifted the movie and it is just like today's Rajini movies. Another example: Pattikata Pattanama was the highest collected movie in b/w category; that movie did not have good comedy and songs are not as catchy as you expect. Still, he lifted the movie just with his presence. Even MGR did not have that privilege, he always needed good comedy and songs. The conclusion is Just sivaji's presence made the magic. After Sivaji, only Rajini can fit this bill.

So, acting started with Sivaji and ended with him. Every others can act, but the fact is their action will revolve around Sivaji's domain

**Shakthiprabha.** · 25th February 2006, 12:49 PM

/////////////What do you mean by French Thespian award?'Chelavier'.?.If yes,Yes,Nadigar Thilagam and Sathyajithray are the only 2 people from India got this highest french award for Arts.////////////

Sad NOT MANY KNOW ALL THESE FACTS. Yet they talk a lot!

**Alien** · 25th February 2006, 05:53 PM

Whatz the necessity to bring other actors here ?

**joe** · 26th February 2006, 10:27 PM

Sivaji rules!
V S Srinivasan chats with the chevalier

Sivaji Ganesan in Parasakti (1952)

"Ennappa eppadi irukkai(How are you keeping?)," Sivaji Ganesan greets you heartily as you walk in though the door. "Ellam Soukyamdhane? (Everything is fine, isn't it?)". It is chaste Tamil, the only variety he speaks. Ganesan is in Bombay on a personal visit. Accompanied, this time, by wife Kamala and son Ram Kumar.

His wife is busy chatting with some other guests, apparently Lata Mangeshkar's nephew and some of the singer's other relatives. "My wife and they like to talk a lot. The only hitch is that they don't know Tamil... But they still hold discussions for hours together." He laughs loudly, the rich and full-throated sound that charged many a theatre filling the small room.

Ganesan has this habit of laughing things off. And there is atmosphere of drama around that magnificent persona that few other Indian actors possess.

Ask him about the Dadasaheb Phalke Award he won this year, an award fans consider unduly delayed, and he smiles.

Sivaji Ganesan with Pandari Bai in Andha Naal (1954)

"Ah, awards! You tell me, are awards important as long as you are sincere about work? I am not at all concerned about awards. I am not running around telling the world that I have the Dadasaheb Phalke award now. But at the same time, I had never complained about not getting the award. If you feel, that I should have got the award earlier, that is because you respect my abilities as a professional actor. Many people say, that I act quite well," he smiles modestly with a faint hint of amusement.

But the Tamil thespian has won few awards in India though in Tamil Nadu he is dubbed the nadigar tilakam (greatest among actors). And, in 1995, he was accorded the title of chevalier by the French government, a slap in the face of Indian indolence, claim fans.

Tamil Nadu was quick to follow, naming the road on which his bungalow in Madras is situated Chevalier Sivaji Road.

"Although, I have not got any awards in India, I have got a lot of awards abroad. Sometime ago the United States of America invited me over, an honour accorded earlier only to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Isn't that enough. Previously, our government had thought that I still had a long way to go to get the award. Maybe that's why they did not give it to me. I think I must have come of age now," says Sivaji, sarcasm personified.

As you watch the man talk, you get the feeling that he still sees himself as being onstage. Sometimes he flings his arms up and, sometimes, he gesticulates dramatically, reminding you of one or the other of the innumerable roles he has essayed. It makes you wonder whether all along you've just been seeing Ganesan depict himself on screen, or whether the screen persona has infected the real man.

You don't spend time musing while the actor is gauging your reactions but ask him if son Prabhu is going to be his successor in Tamil cinema.

Again you get that feeling of deja vu, as he thunders in resonating tenor, his delivery gaining in power with righteousness, and ending in a quiet and undeniable assertion.

Sivaji Ganesan with S S Rajendran and Vijayakumari in Pachai Vilakku (1964)

"One has to work hard to become someone's successor. I'm not a man to parcel my success and give it to my son or anyone else in the world. He has to earn it! And that will be decided by the masses. The public will decide after it sees the man's talent.

"Can anyone say, for instance, that (Tamil Maanila Congress leader) G K Moopanar is a successor of that great leader, Kamraj? Never!"

Born Villipuram Chinnayya Ganesan, he earned the name of Sivaji after he excelled in the role of the Maratha chieftain in a Tamil film, in the wake of a play on which the film was based. The film was also a hit in Maharashtra, where Shivaji is a folk hero.

Did he do the role so well because he became the character?

"Aiyo. Never do that. An actor should never get into the shoes of the character he is playing. Suppose he is playing the role of Narsimha in Bhakta Prahlad and he decides to take on Hiranyakashpu and tear that poor guy's heart out, after kicking the sound and lights to one side and biting the heroine?" He laughs uncontrollably, looking far, far younger than his years.

But time has still left its mark. And now, Ganesan is getting more choosy about his roles, his last film being Kamal Hasan's Thevar Magan. But his following want more from him.

"It is very nice to know that there are people who want you to go on.... That is a great compliment to me. But then I am quite old now. I have ruined my health by working hard on my acting, and that too in many films. I would definitely act if I got a good role... There will be a demand for roses only if they are scarce and good... If I start acting in too many films, my value goes down."

Ganesan first entered theatre because his father, a freedom fighter, was more often in jail than out.

Sivaji Ganesan with Soucar Janaki in Uyarndha Manithan (1968)

"Theatre has taught me everything. My teacher (Chinna Ponniswamy Padayachi of Chidambaram) taught me Bharatnatyam, acting, body movements... Practically everything. My task was rendered more difficult by the fact that I had to play female characters... I was quite jealous of the rough and tough boys because they used to get to play the male roles."

Padayachi, Ganesan says, was himself an outstanding stage actor. And he learnt in an atmosphere that was reminiscent of an ashram school. Then, in a different vein, adds: "That was before you were born." He laughs.

After years on stage, Sivaji bagged a role in Parasakti in 1952. "The sound engineer faulted my dialogue delivery, complaining that I moved my lips like a fish. I was upset but the film's director Krishnan Panju encouraged me saying that I had performed well and a bright future awaited me."

Sivaji has now completed 45 years in filmdom, his peak being in Veerapandya Kattabomman, where he electrified audiences with his performance.

Sivaji Ganesan with Jayalalitha in Enga Maa (1968)

"I was inspired by the character of Kattabomman when I used to watch the theru koothus (street dramas) as a child. I had memorised all the dialogues. But that role is not my favourite. I like all my roles, because I do full justice to every one . All good artistes will tell you the same thing. If someone has his roots in theatre, he will definitely tell you that all his roles are the same," he smiles.

But then why, if he was so devoted to acting, did he enter politics?

"That was an adventure, or rather a misadventure," he says, unabashed. But would try again, given the chance?

Chance," he says heavily. "That is what people wait for. I am sitting here because I have not got a chance. If accorded an opportunity, I will certainly go in for it. I will be a liar if I told you that I don't want to re-enter politics."

Does he have any other future plans? And the hero smiles again.

"Plans are for businessmen. I am an actor. I will always remain an actor. What was my ambition when I started of is the same now. I still want to be a good actor!"
http://www.rediff.com/entertai/dec/24siv.htm

**joe** · 26th February 2006, 10:31 PM

5 greatest dialouges uttered
http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Siva...n-74726-1.html

**joe** · 26th February 2006, 10:33 PM

Tamil cinema's lodestar

S. VISWANATHAN

"VICTORY, victory," shouts Villupuram Chinniah Ganesan as he makes his first appearance in his debut film Parasakthi, released in 1952. When he acted in that opening scene, he was stepping into a career that would take him to the heights of success, winning the admiration of Tamils across the globe as the versatile actor Sivaji Ganesan.

It was, therefore, not surprising that the death of Sivaji Ganesan was mourned by the entire Tamil-speaking community. Thousands of people, including hundreds of film artists and technicians, attended his funeral held in Chennai on July 23 with state honours; thousands more watched it on television. Kannada actor Raj Kumar, Telugu actors A. Nageswara Rao and Chiranjeevi and Malayalam actor Mammooty joined their film fraternity in Tamil Nadu in paying homage to the thespian.

Sivaji Ganesan's rich and varied contribution to Tamil cinema was recalled by President K.R. Narayanan, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Tamil Nadu's acting Governor Dr. C. Rangarajan, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa (who co-starred with him in a number of films) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M. Karunanidhi (who wrote the script for Parasakthi). Homage was paid to the veteran actor in the Rajya Sabha, of which he was a member for a term from 1983 to 1989.

More than 300 films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam - from Parasakthi to Pooparikka Varigirom - an impressive record indeed. For every three years in his first two decades in the profession, he acted in 25 films. Even more impressive is the fact that 65 per cent of his films were hits; they ran for 100 days and more, according to film historians. More than the number of the films he acted in, it was his versatility that earned for him wide admiration.

Critics list several films as his best in terms of performance. However, according to the actor, his career best was Kappalottiya Thamizhan, which tells the life of a freedom fighter, V.O. Chidambaram.

Sivaji Ganesan's forte was dialogue delivery, and it was this aspect of his performance that attracted youth to his films, at least in the first decade of his career. Film historian and media analyst S. Krishna-swamy observes in a tribute: "Sivaji Ganesan's voice and diction not only changed the course of dialogue delivery in Tamil films and plays, but also had a deep impact on the manner in which the language is spoken by narrators on radio and television. This is perhaps the most impressive contribution of the late thespian."

Two factors contributed to this success. First, the principal actors in Tamil films of the 1940s and the 1950s were Telugus, whose talent in acting was not matched by the way they delivered dialogues in Tamil. In fact, Sivaji Ganesan himself lent his voice to Mukkammala Krishnamurthy, a Telugu actor, for a Tamil film, Niraparathi, before the making of Parasakthi, and the film was well-received by the Tamil audience. Secondly, the 1950s saw the growth of the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu, thanks to the forceful oratory of leaders such as C.N. Annadurai and Karunanidhi. They transferred their language skill to the film medium in the scripts they wrote, ensuring their instant acceptance.

Sivaji Ganesan with his extraordinary memory and stentorian voice could captivate his fans with long spells of dialogues in chaste Tamil. He said in an interview that Parasakthi marked a break with the past, when Tamil films used to have 15 or more songs each. "Moreover," he said, "dialogue for me is poetry. I have a passion for poetry. And so, there was no problem for me in rendering it effectively."

ONE major criticism about Sivaji Ganesan is that he "overacted" his roles. Writer and film critic Jnani does not agree with this perception. He observes: "This criticism arises only when one sees Tamil art, and Indian art in general, through the prism of European art tradition. Tamil - and Indian - art traditions basically differ from those of Western realistic art. Therukkoothu (Tamil), Yakshagana Bayalatta (Kannada) and Jatra (Bengali) fall under the category of stylisation, which the West today considers as magical realism. Just as the Puranas and Indian mythology explain real-life situations and truths through fantasies, in art acting depicts reality through stylisation. That is our tradition. Sivaji was an outstanding representative of this tradition." Krishnaswamy, who holds a similar view, says: "If your theme is melodrama, your performance has to match it. But Sivaji Ganesan's range and immense versatility did not confine him to this stylised performance. He could challenge an actor of the realistic school when the story and the character demanded it."

Cho S. Ramaswamy, the actor-turned-journalist, who acted with Sivaji Ganesan in many films, brought up the criticism of "overacting" to the notice of Sivaji Ganesan with reference to a particular scene in a film. The thespian, according to Cho, demonstrated the same role in a subdued way. Asked why he did not do so in the film, Sivaji Ganesan replied: "In that case only you and me may enjoy the film, not the common people." Sivaji himself attributed his histrionic ability to his vast stage experience that preceded his entry into cinema. He recalled that he used to do four roles in the Ramayana staged by a drama troupe of which he was a part for over 10 years.

How did he manage to have a five-decade-long innings in a highly competitive industry? Some say that it was mainly owing to his strict discipline on the sets, punctuality and willing cooperation with his co-artists and technicians, and, above all, humility. He believed that only team spirit could ensure a film's success.

Unlike his one-time associate and main competitor M.G. Ramachandran, who later became Chief Minister, Sivaji Ganesan did not appear to have had any significant influence over the people at the mass level. His encounter with active politics ended in a fiasco. An admirer of E.V. Ramasamy in his youth, he soon joined the DMK. His admiration for Congress stalwart K. Kamaraj brought him to the Congress. He left it to form his own outfit but disbanded it after burning his fingers in the 1989 elections. Ultimately he landed in the Janata Dal. Soon he realised that he was not made for politics and called it a day.

Sivaji Ganesan was perhaps the first film personality in Tamil Nadu to be loved and respected in such large measure merely for his excellence in acting. Many characters in his films have had an impact on the general psyche of the people. As expressed by several fans in their letters to newspapers paying homage to the actor, his films created many role-models in human and familial relations. His heading a large joint family of at least three generations, at a time when joint families are cracking everywhere, has also been a talking point for his admirers. What is certain, however, is that through the effective use of the medium of cinema, one
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1816/18161140.htm

**joe** · 26th February 2006, 10:44 PM

"An apostle of arts,a paragon of virtue,and a master of craft-all put into one is Dr.Sivaji"-Kannada superstar Dr.Rajkumar

**lancelot** · 26th February 2006, 10:53 PM

i once was this movie whit Sivaji and Prabu in it....
in this movie...sivaji want sto make his dream movie...... he is looking for a good actress....
he wants prabu to act in the movie... but he is all religous an stuff...

at last prabu falls in love with the actress of the movie... an i think both of them die at the end.....

wats the name of this movie???? was it a hit????

hehe