Google on Friday paid tribute to the legendary thespian Sivaji Ganesan to mark his 93rd birth anniversary, with a Doodle, created by a Bengaluru-based artist Noopur Rajesh Choksi. Sivaji Ganesan is considered one of the best Indian actors of all time.
Actor Vikram Prabhu, the actor’s grandson shared the Doodle on Twitter. “Here is the #Googledoodle honouring the Legendary #SivajiGanesan on his 93rd birthday. Appreciate the people from Google India and their guest artist Noopur Rajesh Choksi for the doodle art. Another proud moment! Love him and miss him more every year,” Prabhu said in his post.
Who was Sivaji Ganesan (Ganesamoorthy)
Born on October 1, 1928, in Villupuram in Madras Presidency (present-day Tamil Nadu), Ganesan left his home at the age of seven to join a theatre group. In December 1945, Ganesamoorthy portrayed Maratha ruler Shivaji in a play titled “Shivaji Kanda Hindu Rajyam.” His iconic performance earned him the name ‘Sivaji’.
Sivaji Ganesan as an actor
Ganesan was described by the Los Angeles Times as the “Marlon Brando of south India’s film industry.”
Though he was mainly active in Tamil cinema, where he made his debut in 1952’s “Parasakthi,” Ganesan appeared in nearly 300 films, including those in languages such as Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. In a career that spanned nearly five decades, he won several awards, and was the first Indian actor to win a Best Actor award at an international film festival (Afro-Asian Film Festival in Cairo, Egypt), winning for his performance in 1960’s “Veerapandiya Kattabomman.”
M Karunanidhi recommended him for the lead role in Parasakthi to the producer, which was supposed to be portrayed by K R Ramasamy. The script was written by later Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M Karunanidhi.
Ganesan went on to become one of the popular actors in Tamil cinema in the 1950s.
Ganesan played a supporting role to Rajendra Kumar in the Hindi film Dharti in 1970, which was a remake of his 1969 Tamil film Sivandha Mann, in which he played the lead role.
In the 1960s and 1970s, his films have been well received and he was able to deliver constant hits. Some of his famous hits during this period are Vasantha Maligai, Gauravam, Thanga Pathakkam and Sathyam.
Sivaji Ganesan’s political journey
Ganesan also dabbled in politics. Until 1956, Ganesan was a staunch supporter of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). In 1962, he worked for the Congress party. He was made the Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. After 1988, he floated his own political party (Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani). However, unlike his highly successful acting career, his political career was rather unsuccessful.
Sivaji Ganesan’s death
He passed away on July 21, 2001, at the age of 72. A documentary, Parasakthi Muthal Padayappa Varai, was made to commemorate Sivaji Ganesan’s legacy.
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