Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, was an Indian actor and film producer. He was mainly 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 also gave him 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 actor in Tamil cinema to have played the lead role in over 250 films.
Bangalore Saroja Devi is an Indian actress who has acted in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. She acted in around 200 films over seven decades. She is known by the epithets "Abhinaya Saraswathi" in Kannada and "Kannadathu Paingili" in Tamil. She is one of the most successful actresses in the history of Indian cinema.
Muthal Mariyathai is a 1985 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film produced, directed and co-written by Bharathiraja. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and Radha, with Vadivukkarasi, newcomers Deepan and Ranjini, Janagaraj, Sathyaraj, Aruna, Veerasami and Ramanathan in supporting roles. It revolves around the relationship between an unhappily married village chief and a young boatwoman.
Thoguluva Meenatchi Iyengar Soundararajan, popularly known as TMS, was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer in Tamil cinema for over six and a half decades. He sang over 10,138 songs from 3,162 films, including devotional, semi-classical, Carnatic, classical and light music songs. He gave classical concerts starting in 1943.
The Filmfare Best Actor Award is given by the Filmfare as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Tamil film lead actors. The Filmfare Awards South Awards were extended to "Best Actor" in 1972. The year indicates the year of release of the film.
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.
Pattikada Pattanama is a 1972 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film produced and directed by P. Madhavan and written by Bala Murugan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and Jayalalithaa. The film deals with Kalpana, an urban woman who marries a villager Mookaiyan. After marriage, differences of opinion arise between the couple as Mookaiyan raises objections about city culture, leading to their separation. The rest of the film is whether Kalpana reforms and the couple reunite or not.
Gnana Oli is a 1972 Indian Tamil language film, directed by P. Madhavan and written by Vietnam Veedu Sundaram, starring Sivaji Ganesan. It is a loose adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel Les Miserables. This film was remade in Hindi as Devata (1978) and in Telugu as Chakravarthy (1987).
Thillana Mohanambal is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language romantic musical dance film written, directed and produced by A. P. Nagarajan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Padmini and T. S. Balaiah, with A. V. M. Rajan, Nagesh and Manorama in supporting roles. It tells the story of Shanmugasundaram, a nadaswaram player who falls in love with Mohanambal, a Bharatanatyam dancer who reciprocates his feelings, but unfortunate circumstances and their egoistic nature prevents them from confessing their love for one another. How they overcome their self-created obstacles and those created by the people around them forms the rest of the story.
Puthiya Paravai is a 1964 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film directed by Dada Mirasi. Produced by Sivaji Ganesan, the film stars himself, B. Saroja Devi, M. R. Radha and Sowcar Janaki, with Nagesh, Manorama, V. K. Ramasamy, O. A. K. Thevar and S. V. Ramadas in supporting roles. The plot revolves around Gopal, who falls in love with Latha, a woman he recently befriended, when his presumed-dead wife Chitra arrives to tell him that she is still alive. He claims her to be an impostor but no one believes him.
Arivaali (transl. Genius) is a 1963 Indian Tamil language film written, produced and directed by A. T. Krishnaswamy. It is based on his play Penn Paduthum Paadu, in turn based on the William Shakespeare play The Taming of the Shrew. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and P. Bhanumathi. It was released on 1 March 1963.
Vietnam Veedu Sundaram was an Indian playwright, screenwriter and film director. He wrote films such as Gauravam, Vietnam Veedu, Gnana Oli, Satyam, Grihapravesam, Justice Gopinath, Annan Oru Koyil, Naan Yen Pirandhen and Naalai Namadhe. He also directed a few films and is well known for his family themes. He written stories films in languages such as Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. He also worked as an actor in films and television.
Marumagal (transl. Daughter-in-law) is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by Karthik Raghunath and produced by Anandavalli Balaji. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Suresh, Revathi and Jaishankar. It is a remake of the Hindi film Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaye. The film was released on 26 January 1986.
Andaman Kadhali is a 1978 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by Muktha Srinivasan, produced by Muktha Ramaswamy and written by A. S. Prakasam. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Sujatha, Chandra Mohan and Thengai Srinivasan. It was released on 26 January 1978. The film was remade in Telugu as Andaman Ammayi.
Nirai Kudam is a 1969 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by Muktha Srinivasan and produced by V. Ramasamy. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and Vanisri. It was released on 8 August 1969.
Uyarndha Manithan is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language drama film written by Javar Seetharaman and directed by Krishnan–Panju. The film was produced by A. V. Meiyappan, M. Saravanan, M. Kumaran and M. Murugan under AVM Productions. It stars Sivaji Ganesan and Sowcar Janaki, while S. A. Ashokan, Major Sundarrajan, Vanisri and Sivakumar play pivotal roles. The film's soundtrack and background score were composed by M. S. Viswanathan, while the lyrics for the songs were written by Vaali.
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.
Santhi ( transl. Peace) is a 1965 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by A. Bhimsingh and produced by A. L. Srinivasan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, S. S. Rajendran, C. R. Vijayakumari and Devika. It was released on 22 April 1965. The film was remade in Hindi as Gauri (1968).
Vadivukku Valai Kappu is a 1962 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by A. P. Nagarajan in his directorial debut. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Savitri, and Sowcar Janaki. It was released on 7 July 1962.
Shanti Theatre was an Indian movie theatre in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Built by G. Umapathy and D. Shanmuga Raja, and inaugurated in January 1961, it was bought by actor Sivaji Ganesan, and was owned by his family since. In May 2016, Shanti ceased screening films, and was re-invented by its owners as office space.
