Ramasamy Ganesan, better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred to as the Kaadhal Mannan for his romantic roles in films. Ganesan was one of the "three biggest names of Tamil cinema", the other two being M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan. While Sivaji Ganesan excelled in dramatic films and M. G. Ramachandran was popular as an action hero, Gemini Ganesan was known for his romantic films. A recipient of the Padma Shri in 1971, he had also won several other awards including the Kalaimamani, the MGR Gold Medal, and the Screen Lifetime Achievement Award. He was one of the few college graduates to enter the film industry then.
Vaikom Narayani Janaki, also known as Janaki Ramachandran, was an Indian politician, actress and activist who served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for 23 days after the death of her husband M. G. Ramachandran, former chief minister of Tamil Nadu. She was the first woman to become the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. She was also the first actress to become the chief minister in the history of India.
Gopishantha, better known by her stage name Manorama, also called Aachi, was an Indian actress, playback singer and comedian who had appeared in more than 1000 films and 5000 stage performances and several television series predomninantely in the Tamil language until 2015. She was a recipient of the Kalaimamani award. In 2002, Government of India awarded Manorama the Padma Shri for her contribution to the arts. She received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film Pudhiya Padhai (1989) and Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South (1995).
Nagesh (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; was an Indian actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in over 1,000 films from 1958 to 2008, performing in a variety of roles as comedian, lead roles, supporting actor and antagonist. He has also acted in Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada films. Nagesh's style of comedy was largely inspired by Hollywood actor Jerry Lewis. Similarities between Nagesh and Lewis earned Nagesh the sobriquet the "Jerry Lewis of India". He was also nicknamed as the King of Comedy due to his impeccable comedy timing and body language. He featured regularly in the film projects of M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan even at a time when there was a massive rift between the two leading actors in Tamil cinema at that time.
Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, in addition to other regions of India, as well as Sri Lanka. They can be broadly divided into two denominations: Iyengars, who are adherents of Sri Vaishnavism, and Iyers, who follow the Srauta and Smarta traditions.
Paar Magaley Paar is a 1963 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by A. Bhimsingh and written by Valampuri Somanathan. Based on the play Petral Thaan Pillaiya by Pattu, which in turn was based on the Hindi film Parvarish (1958), it stars Sivaji Ganesan, M. R. Radha, Sowcar Janaki and C. R. Vijayakumari. The film was released on 12 July 1963.
Thedi Vandha Mappillai is a 1970 Indian Tamil-language film produced and directed by B. R. Panthulu. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa, S. A. Ashokan, Major Sundarrajan, M. V. Rajamma and Cho Ramaswamy. It is a remake of Panthulu's own 1967 Kannada film Beedi Basavanna. The film was released on 29 August 1970. It won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film.
The eleventh legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 2 May 1996. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led front won the election and its leader M. Karunanidhi, became the chief minister. This was his fourth term in office. S. Balakrishnan, also known as So. Balakrishnan, of Tamil Maanila Congress, became the Leader of the Opposition. The incumbent All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government was defeated in a landslide with its general secretary and outgoing chief minister J. Jayalalithaa losing the election from the Bargur constituency. She became the first Incumbent Chief Minister since M. Bakthavatsalam in 1967 to lose her own constituency.
R. M. Veerappan is an Indian politician, an early Dravidian Leader, and a movie producer and screenwriter from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is the founder and leader of the MGR Kazhagam party. He served as a Cabinet Minister in five governments from 1977 to 1996, is a three-time Member of Legislative Council and a two-time member of the Legislative Assembly. He was the Leader of the House for Legislative Assembly and Leader of ADMK party of the Legislative Council. He was the architect behind the ADMK organization, unified the MGR fan clubs for the party formation. He was called as the 'Chanakya' of AIADMK politics in the 70's and 80's.
Muktha Srinivasan was an Indian film director and producer.
Jayaram Jayalalithaa was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2016, she was the 5th and longest-serving general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), a Dravidian party whose cadre revered her as their "Amma" (Mother) and "Puratchi Thalaivi".
Srikanth was an Indian actor who has performed in around 200 Tamil films since his debut in 1965. He is also referred to as Venniradai Srikanth. He has played the lead hero in around 50 films between 1965 and 1979 and has also played supporting roles in films with actors Sivaji Ganesan, Muthuraman, Ravichandran and Jaishankar in the lead roles. In the late seventies to early nineties, he appeared as a villain opposite actors including Sivakumar, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.
Adimai Penn is a 1969 Indian Tamil-language action adventure film directed by K. Shankar and produced by M. G. Ramachandran and R. M. Veerappan. The film stars Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, with Ashokan, Pandari Bai, Rajasree, Manohar, Chandrababu and Cho in supporting roles. It revolves around the efforts of a deceased king's son to free the enslaved people of a kingdom from their tyrant king.
Saraswathi Sundaresan Iyer, professionally known as Kumari Sachu is an Indian actress who has acted in more than 500 films in five different languages and a few television serials. She is a character actress/comedienne who has nonchalantly blended into the roles she has portrayed over five decades. She made her film début in 1953 in the film Rani at the age of 4, and has since then been a prominent face on the silver screen. Since 1995, she has started acting in television serials. In 2012, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in Chennai, honored Kumari Sachu with the Nadaga Soodamani award.
Kumari Kottam is a 1971 Indian Tamil-language film directed by P. Neelakantan. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, with Lakshmi, Sachu, S. A. Ashokan, V. K. Ramasamy, R. S. Manohar and Cho Ramaswamy in supporting roles. It was released on 26 January 1971.
Engal Thangam is a 1970 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by Krishnan–Panju. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa. It was released on 9 October 1970 and became a success, besides winning three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.
Bommalattam is 1968 Indian Tamil-language comedy film, directed by Muktha Srinivasan and produced by V. Ramaswamy. The screenplay was written by Cho Ramaswamy from a story by Madurai Thirumaran. It stars Jaishankar, Jayalalithaa, Nagesh, Major Sundarrajan, Cho Ramaswamy and Manorama. V. S. Raghavan, Sachu and O. A. K. Thevar play key roles. The film was released on 31 May 1968.
Vandhaale Magaraasi is a 1973 Indian Tamil-language comedy film, directed by K. S. Gopalakrishnan and produced by Ashok Pictures. The screenplay was written by Gopalakrishnan, the film was shot at his own studio, Karpagam Studios. Music was by Shankar–Ganesh. The film stars Jayalalithaa and M. N. Rajam, playing lead role, with Jaishankar, V. S. Raghavan, Cho Ramaswamy Pushpalatha and Bhagavathy in supporting roles. It was released on 16 March 1973.
Ninaivil Nindraval is a 1967 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by Muktha Srinivasan. The film stars Ravichandran and K. R. Vijaya, with Nagesh, Cho, V. S. Raghavan, Anandan, Kumari Sachu, Manorama and Devaki in supporting roles. It revolves around a woman who, following her marriage, suffers amnesia, forgetting the events of her marriage.
Manam Oru Kurangu is a 1967 Indian Tamil-language satirical film directed by A. T. Krishnaswamy and produced by T. V. Arasu. Based on the play of the same name, itself inspired by the 1913 George Bernard Shaw play Pygmalion, the film stars Cho Ramaswamy, R. Muthuraman, T. S. Balaiah, A. V. M. Rajan, K. R. Vijaya and Vijayarani. It was released on 14 January 1967 and became a commercial success.
