Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, was an Indian Actor and Film producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ganesan is acknowledged as one of the greatest Indian actors of all time and among the most imitated one by other actors. He was known for his versatility and the variety of roles he depicted on screen, which gave him also the Tamil nickname Nadigar Thilagam. In a career that spanned close to five decades, he had acted in 288 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. Sivaji Ganesan is the only Tamil actor to have played the lead role in over 250 films.
Prashanth Thiagarajan, known professionally as Prashanth, is an Indian actor and businessman, known for his works predominantly in Tamil cinema. Besides Tamil films, he has also appeared in few Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam films. At the peak of his career in the late 1990s, Prashanth was one of the popular actors in South India. He has won a Kalaimamani Award from the Government of Tamil Nadu. The son of actor-director Thiagarajan, Prashanth began his career at 17 by appearing in the Tamil film Vaigasi Poranthachu (1990) and went on to feature in other films including Balu Mahendra's Vanna Vanna Pookkal (1992), R. K. Selvamani's Chembaruthi (1992), K. Rushendra Reddy's Tholi Muddhu (1993), and Mani Ratnam's action-comedy Thiruda Thiruda (1993). Prashanth rose to stardom with Shankar's romantic comedy Jeans (1998) in which he played a dual role alongside Aishwarya Rai. The success of Jeans saw him garner opportunities to work in bigger film projects and in the late 1990s, he featured in a series of breakthrough films such as Kannedhirey Thondrinal (1998), Kaadhal Kavithai (1998), Jodi (1999) and Parthen Rasithen (2000).
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.
Sarathkumar Ramanathan is an Indian actor, politician, filmmaker and former bodybuilder who works predominantly in Tamil cinema in addition to Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. He has acted in more than 145 films and won two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards South.
Jaishankar was an Indian actor known for his work in Tamil cinema. He was a notable lead actor in the 1960s and 70s, who was credited onscreen with title of Makkal Kalaingnar or Makkal Thamizhan in most of the films starring him. He was also referred to as Thennakathu James Bond because of his roles in films such as Vallavan Oruvan and CID Shankar.
Manjeri Narayanan Nambiar was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema, known mostly for his villain roles in an eight decade long career. He has also appeared in a few Malayalam films.
Sayaji Shinde is an Indian actor who has acted in Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Bhojpuri films and several Marathi Plays. Sayaji started his acting career in 1978 in Marathi one-act plays. His performance in a 1987 Marathi play titled Zulva was very well received, and since then he started gaining popularity among the circle of stalwarts. Later, he moved on to Marathi cinema and then started acting in other languages. He also appeared recently in Bacha Mat Bolna Yt Channel
Koondukkili is a 1954 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed and co-produced by T. R. Ramanna. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan and B. S. Saroja. Although a commercial failure, it gained historical reputation over time due to the fact it was the only film in which Ramachandran and Ganesan acted together.
Karpagam is a 1963 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by K. S. Gopalakrishnan. The film features an ensemble cast including Gemini Ganesan, Savitri, S. V. Ranga Rao, M. R. Radha, R. Muthuraman, V. K. Ramasamy, V. Nagayya, Karikol Raju, Sheeladevi, K. R. Vijaya and Baby Shakila. In Karpagam, a rich farmer makes his newly married daughter (Vijaya) and her husband (Ganesan) live in his house to take care of his business. Problems arise when his estranged son (Muthuraman) starts to squander his money.
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.
Nipon Goswami was an Indian actor and theatre artist associated with Assamese-language films. He was one of the veteran actors of Assamese Film Industry. He started his acting career as a stage actor and later established himself as a film actor. His most notable for his work in the 1969 film Dr. Bezbarua as well as Piyoli Phukan, Tumi Aahibaane and Aparoopa.
Thangappathakkam is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language drama film, directed by P. Madhavan and written by Mahendran. Based on Mahendran's play of the same name, the film stars Sivaji Ganesan, K. R. Vijaya, Srikanth and Prameela. It focuses on a disciplined Superintendent of Police who is dedicated to his job, while his son, on the contrary, is rebellious by nature and grows to resent his father. Ganesan reprises his role from the play.
Thirisoolam (transl. Trident) is a 1979 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by K. Vijayan. The film has Sivaji Ganesan playing triple roles. It is a remake of the Kannada film Shankar Guru (1978). The film was released on 27 January 1979 and turned out to be a silver jubilee hit, running for over 175 days in theatres eventually becoming the highest grossing Tamil film at the time of its release.
Left Right Left is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language political drama film, directed by Arun Kumar Aravind and written by Murali Gopy. Left Right Left revolves around the lives of Jayan, Roy, Sahadevan, Anitha and Jennifer. Released on 14 June 2013, the film was set in three periods – the 60s/70s, the 80s/90s and the present day. It got mostly positive reviews upon release but drew occasional criticism for some of its characters and scenes resembling real-life political leaders and incidents. However, it has gathered a cult status over the years as one of the finest political thrillers ever made in Malayalam. Murali Gopy's performance won him the 61st Filmfare Awards South for The Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Lena Kumar won Kerala State Film Award for the Second Best Actress.Filmicompanion in 2019 included Hareesh Peradi's performance in the Top 100 performances of the decade.
Ethiroli is a 1970 Indian Tamil-language legal drama film, directed by K. Balachander, starring Sivaji Ganesan. It was the only collaboration between Balachander and Ganesan. The film was released on 27 June 1970.
Vasandhathil Or Naal is a 1982 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar and produced by S. Rangarajan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and Sripriya. It is a remake of the 1975 Hindi film Mausam. The film was released on 7 May 1982.
Dharmam Engey is a 1972 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and Jayalalithaa, with R. Muthuraman, Kumari Padmini and M. N. Nambiar in supporting roles. It was released on 15 July 1972.
S. V. Ramadas (1921-2004) was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil-language films, most often as a villain. He acted in more than 700 films in a career spanning over four decades.
Thiruvarutchelvar is a 1967 Indian Tamil-language Hindu mythological film, directed and produced by A. P. Nagarajan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Savitri and Padmini. It was released on 28 July 1967, and ran for 100 days successfully in theatres.
A. Veerappan was an Indian comedian, screenwriter, and film director. While having worked in more than 100 films. He is notable for his comedian roles along with fellow actor Nagesh in the 1960s.
