Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, was an Indian actor and 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 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.
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.
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.
Jaishankar was an Indian actor known for his work in Tamil cinema. He was a very popular lead actor in the 1960s and 70s. He was credited onscreen with title of Makkal Kalaingnar or Makkal Thamizhan in most 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.
Janagaraj is an Indian Tamil actor. He has acted in over 200 films predominantly in Tamil cinema as a comedian or in supporting roles. He also starred in few Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi films.
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.
Abbas is a former Indian actor and model from Kolkata, who has predominantly appeared in Tamil and Telugu films, and a few films in Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada. He made his debut with Kadhir's Kadhal Desam in 1996.
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.
Karthik Sivakumar, better known by his stage name Karthi, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He has won three Filmfare Awards South, an Edison Award, a SIIMA Award and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award.
Suman Talwar is an Indian actor known for his work in Telugu and Tamil cinema. He was one of the most prominent actors of Telugu cinema during the 1980s.
Saridey Varalakshmi was an Indian actress and singer who worked in Telugu and Tamil-language films. She was popular for her roles and songs in Telugu films like Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam (1960) and Mahamantri Timmarasu (1962) and Tamil films like Veerapandiya Kattabomman (1959) and in Poova Thalaiya (1969).
Aayirathil Oruvan is a 1965 Indian Tamil-language swashbuckler film produced and directed by B. R. Panthulu. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, with M. N. Nambiar, Manohar, Nagesh, S. V. Ramadas, Vijayalakshmi and Madhavi in supporting roles. It revolves around a doctor who is sold into slavery for rebelling against the dictator of his nation, and later forced into a life of piracy.
Pasamalar is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by A. Bhimsingh. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and Savitri Ganesan, with K. A. Thangavelu M. N. Nambiar and M. N. Rajam in supporting roles. It revolves around Rajasekhar and his bonding with his younger sister Radha. Radha falls in love with her brother's friend, and Rajasekhar eventually arranges for their marriage. Problems they face form the story.
Pratap Pothen was an Indian actor and filmmaker who acted in about 100 films and directed 12 films. He appeared in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu as well as Hindi films. He also worked as a scriptwriter and producer for films.
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.
Sakthi T. K. Krishnasamy (1913-1987) was a veteran Tamil drama author, celebrated screenwriter and lyricist in Tamil films from the 1950s through the 1970s. He mostly wrote stories, screenplay and dialogue for films starring M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan. He has authored historical, mythological and social Tamil films spanning over 3 decades. He was considered one of the best film script writers of Tamil Cinema, and was hailed as such by noted screenwriters like C. N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi publicly. His most acclaimed works are Veerapandiya Kattabomman and Karnan.
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.
Sivandha Mann is a 1969 Indian Tamil-language romantic action film written, produced and directed by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and Kanchana, with S. V. Ranga Rao, M. N. Nambiar, Muthuraman, Nagesh and Sachu in supporting roles. It revolves around an Inspector General's son (Ganesan) and a princess (Kanchana) who rebel against the tyrannical ruler (Nambiar) of their region.
Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy were an Indian music composing duo composed of M. S. Viswanathan and T. K. Ramamoorthy. They worked together on over 100 films, from 1952's Panam to 1965's Aayirathil Oruvan. After their split, Ramamoorthy worked on 16 films between 1966 and 1986. He and Viswanathan reunited in 1995 for Engirundho Vandhan.
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.
