1) Original Name : V.C.GANESAN (Villupuram C.Ganesan)2) Popular Name : SIVAJI GANESAN -- the title "Sivaji" was given to Ganesan by the great Rationlist,Thanthai Periyar E.V.R.Ramasamy for his best performance in the role of Sathrapathy Sivaji in the stage play "Sivaji kanda Indu Saamraajyam" in the year 1946.
3) How Became An Actor: When he was 9 years old he ran away from his house. Nobody knew his whereabouts. After many days his mother and elder brother happened to trace him at a place near Trichirapalli where "Kampalaththaan Kooththu" a popular folk drama was taking place. Kattabomman's story was being enacted on stage in that Kooththu. Ganesan was very much interested in that particular drama. Even at that small age he had vowed that one day he would become an actor and do Kattabomman's role on stage. Ganesan's mother brought him back to their house. She arranged through her elder son to get a placement for Ganesan in one of the popular drama troupes. Thus Ganesan first became a stage actor.
4) First film : His first film is "Paraasakthi". It was released in the year 1952.
5) Great Turning Point: "Parasakthi" was a great turning point not only in Sivaji Ganesan's acting Career but also for the entire Tamil Cinema Field. Before that there were mainly either Raja Rani Stories or religious and mythological stories with a number of songs which had great sway among Tamil Cinema audience. But "Paraasakthi" was a social film with revolutionery themes and lesser number of songs. More over the heart - catching, fiery dialogue by Kalaingar Karunanidhi made the film a super revolutionery one in terms of it's trend- setting nature and it's overall reformative impact on society.
6) Milestones : The Greatest Merit of Sivaji Ganesan is that no other actor either in Tamil Cinema or Indian Film Industry or in the whole World has done such a great number of roles and acted in such a great varieties of roles depicting real life- like characters on screen and no other actor's acting carreer is so much saturated with such a great number of milestones in terms of unimaginable achievements as in that of sivaji Ganesan.
7)Meritorious Awards:
1) The Best Actor Award won in Afro- Asian Film Festival held in Gairo, Egypt in 1960.
2) Padmasri Title - 1966.
3) Padmabhushan Title - 1984
4) Chevalier Award of France 1995.
5) Dadha Saahib Paalkhe Award 1997.
8)Meritorious Qualities :
1) Modesty.
2) Punctuality
.3) Make-up Aptness and Physical Fitness that suit with 100% exactness any sort of role from Prince to Beggar and the Rugged Character to the Cultured Elite!
4) Infinite Veriety In Acting And Dialogue -Delivery - An Unreachable Feat by any other World Level Actor.
9)Unique Achievment: The No 1 ranked Actor the World has ever seen.
10) Ambition: Wants to act until the last breath of life and he would be even more happy, he once said, should his physical existence comes to an end while acting.
11) Total Number Of Films: Around 300
12) Mother Tongue: Tamil
13) Native Place: Villupuram, a small town in South Arcot district, in Tamilnadu, India.
14) Academic Education: III std, at the preliminary level of school education.
15) Father's Name: P.Chinniah Mandraayer. Though poor was very rich in his sprit of patriotism! Was imprisoned many number of times for his continued support and participation in the then Indian Freedom Stuggle under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Jail become his second home.
16) Mother's Name: Rajamani Ammal. While her husband was in prison she had to undergo all sorts of hardships to feed her children and maintain the family.Lack of food made them at times to forgo food.
17) Marriage: Married Kamala, already a relative of him, who was a resident of Nagappattinam near Trichirappalli, Tamilnadu. This couple begot two male children later named Ramkumar and Prabhu, and two female ones Shanthi and Thenmozhi. Today all the four are married. Ramkumar looks after and manages Sivaji Films. Prabhu has become one of the busiest, leading heroes of Tamil Cinema.
18) Political Affiliations: From his first film onwards he was considered to be a staunch D.M.K. party sympathiser. After 1955 some dramatic changes took place. He was a neutralist for some years. But at the end of 1961 he become a strong supporter of Congress Party. In that year he took part and delivered an address in the state Congress party Conference in which the then Prime Minister Pandid Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamarajar were the main participants. In 1982 Mrs.Indira Gandhi made him the Rajya sabha M.P. After 1687 came out of Congress and floated his own Political Party. 2 years latter became President of Tamilnadu faction of Janata Dal. After a few years he quit politics.
19) Honours Bestowed Upon Sivaji Ganesan: In 1962 Sivaji Ganesan toured America as its Special Guest. There, he was given one of the highest houours of being the Mayor of Niagara City for one day. After Prime Minister Nehru, Sivaji was the only Indian to get this honour. In Hollywood he met world famous actors like Marlon Brando and some leading Cinema technicians. Egyptian President Naasar, Singapore former Prime Minister, Ceylon President Chandrika, Indian former Prime Ministers Nehru, Indra Gandhi, V.P. Singh, former President Dr. Radhakirishnan, former Governer -General Rajaji, former Chief Ministers Kamarajar and Annadurai, Present Chief Minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi, Ex-Chief Ministers M.G.R., RamaRao and Jayalalitha were not only his associates but his very great admirers too!
