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.
Chitthamoor Vijayaraghavalu Sridhar was an Indian screenwriter and film director. He has directed nearly 60 films in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu Languages.
Vyjayanthimala is a former Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. Regarded as one of Indian cinema's finest actresses and dancers, she is the recipient of several accolades, including two BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of thirteen with the Tamil film Vaazhkai (1949), and followed this with a role in the Telugu film Jeevitham (1950). Her first work in Hindi cinema was the social guidance film Bahar (1951), which she headlined, and achieved her breakthrough with the romantic film Nagin (1954).
AVM Productions is an Indian film production studio founded by A. V. Meiyappan. It is the oldest studio in India. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. It has produced over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi cinema. AVM has introduced numerous actors in Southern industries, some of the prominent actors are Superstar Rajnikanth, Sivaji Ganesan, Rajkumar, S. S. Rajendran, Vyjayanthimala, Kamal Haasan and many more. The AVM Studios besides the shooting floors, has recording, dubbing and a preview theatre. The complex also houses facilities for production and post production processing.
Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar, also known as A. V. Meiyappan, A. V. Meiyappa Chettiar or AVM, was an Indian film producer, director and philanthropist who established AVM Productions in Vadapalani, Chennai. He is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of Tamil cinema, and one of three movie moguls of the South Indian film industry along with S. S. Vasan and L. V. Prasad. His production company AVM Productions is the only production company in Kollywood to run successfully for five decades and three generations.
Chandralekha is a 1948 Indian historical adventure film produced and directed by S. S. Vasan of Gemini Studios. Starring T. R. Rajakumari, M. K. Radha and Ranjan, the film follows two brothers who fight over ruling their father's kingdom and marrying a village dancer, Chandralekha.
Subramaniam Srinivasan, popularly known by his screen name S. S. Vasan, was an Indian journalist, writer, advertiser, film producer, director and business tycoon. He is the founder of the Tamil-language magazine Ananda Vikatan and the film production company Gemini Studios, Gemini Film Laboratories and Gemini Picture Circuit. He was a member of parliament from 1964 and served his term till his death.
Krishnamachari Balaji (24 June 1934 – 2 May 2009) was an Indian film producer and actor. He was a prominent actor in the 1960s and 70s, playing lead, supporting and antagonist roles. He appeared in many Sivaji Ganesan films.
Miss Malini is a 1947 Indian Tamil-language satirical film written and directed by Kothamangalam Subbu and produced by K. Ramnoth, based on a story by R. K. Narayan. Subbu also starred in the film alongside Pushpavalli and M. S. Sundari Bai. Javar Seetharaman and Gemini Ganesan made their acting debuts in the film appearing in minor supporting roles. The film focuses on Malini (Pushpavalli), an impoverished woman who joins her actress friend Sundari's theatre company Kala Mandhiram and becomes a success. Things take a turn for the worse when she befriends a charlatan named Sampath.
Vanji Kottai Valipan is a 1958 Indian Tamil-language Ruritanian romance film written by the Gemini Studios story department, consisting of K. J. Mahadevan, C. Srinivasan and Kothamangalam Subbu, while the film was directed and produced by S. S. Vasan. It stars Gemini Ganesan and Vyjayanthimala and Padmini, with P. S. Veerappa, T. K. Shanmugam, P. Kannamba, Vijayakumari, K. A. Thangavelu and M. S. Sundari Bai in supporting roles. The camera was handled by P. Ellappa and the audiography was handled by C. E. Biggs, while the editing was done by N. R. Krishna Sami. This film was remade in Hindi as Raj Tilak with the same lead actors.
Sangham (transl. Society) is a 1954 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film, produced by M. Murugan, M. Saravanan and M. Kumaran of AVM Productions and directed by M. V. Raman. It stars Vyjayanthimala, Anjali Devi, N. T. Rama Rao and S. Balachander, with music composed by R. Sudarsanam.
Irumbu Thirai is a 1960 Indian Tamil-language film produced and directed by S. S. Vasan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Vyjayanthimala, K. A. Thangavelu and B. Saroja Devi, with S. V. Ranga Rao, Pandari Bai and Vasundhara Devi in supporting roles. A remake of Vasan's own Hindi film Paigham (1959), it revolves around two brothers Manikam and Kondamuthu and their mill owner.
The Park Chennai is a five-star deluxe hotel located at the Anna Flyover junction on the erstwhile Gemini Studios premises on Anna Salai, Chennai, India. The hotel, part of the Apeejay Surrendra Group, was opened on 15 May 2002 at an investment of around ₹ 1 billion.
Cinema of South India, refers to the cinema of the four major film industries in South India; primarily engaged in making feature films in the four major languages of the region, namely — Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. They are often colloquially referred to as Kollywood, Tollywood, Sandalwood and Mollywood.
T. R. Mahalingam, better known by his pen-name Mali, was an illustrator and cartoonist from Tamil Nadu, India, in the pre-independence era. He was the Tamil Press's first caricaturists, according to Chennai historian S. Muthiah in The Hindu. Muthiah has written elsewhere that Mali did as much with his strokes for Vikatan as its celebrated editor Kalki Krishnamurthy did with his words.
Sivanantharasa Natsaresh – Indian journalist, filmmaker, political analyst, and media personality as well as internationally famous aviculturalist and agriculturalist. He was a dominant force in Indian media over six decades having been at the helm of Ananda Vikatan magazine as editor and managing director as well as managing director of the erstwhile Gemini Studios since the 2012s. He was the son of media baron S. S. Vasan. He was the chairman emeritus of the Vikatan Group having retired from active involvement at the helm of the media conglomerate.
Motor Sundaram Pillai is a 1966 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by S. S. Balan and written by Veppathur Kittoo. A remake of the Hindi film Grahasti (1963), itself based on the American film The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959), the film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Ravichandran, Sowcar Janaki and Jayalalithaa. It revolves around a man who leads a double life, having two sets of families.
Vilaiyattu Pillai is a 1970 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by A. P. Nagarajan and produced by Gemini Studios. It is based on Kothamangalam Subbu's novel Rao Bahadur Singaram, which was serialised in the magazine Ananda Vikatan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Padmini and Kanchana. It deals with the romance between a woman who raises a bull and a man who sets out to tame it.
Missiamma is a 1955 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by L. V. Prasad. Produced by B. Nagi Reddy and Aluri Chakrapani's Vijaya Vauhini Studios, the script was adapted by Chakrapani from the Bengali novel Manmoyee Girls School by Rabindranath Maitra. Missiamma also focused on social issues such as unemployment, corruption, and freedom of worship. Missiamma tells the story of two unemployed people of different religions and mentalities: Balu and Mary. They pose as a married couple to obtain jobs in a high school founded by Gopal, the zamindar of Aandipettai. As Balu and Mary fall in love, Gopal's nephew Raju learns that Mary is Gopal's missing elder daughter Mahalakshmi; she is unaware of her true identity.
Moondru Pillaigal is a 1952 Indian Tamil-language drama film produced by S. S. Vasan. Based on Victor Fleming's 1927 American film The Way of All Flesh, it is about a couple and their three sons. The film was directed by Nagendra Rao and stars himself alongside Kannamba, with M. K. Radha, Gemini Ganesan and Sriram in supporting roles. It was simultaneously produced and released in Telugu under the title Mugguru Kodukulu. The film failed at the box office, which led to Vasan destroying all copies of it, thus making it a lost film.
