Sivaji Ganesan

The Honorable Mr. Ganesan was the second son in his family, with two siblings. He married Kamala in 1952, with four children later. His son Prabhu is a popular actor in the Tamil industry. Active during the latter half of the 20th Century, Vettaithidal Chinnaiahpillai “Sivaji” Ganesan was one of the best and most respected actors in the industry. His adaptability and incredible acting skills lead him to the Tamil honorific name “Nadigar Thillagam” meaning “The pride of actors”.

He made his way from a small stage actor, in his childhood, to one of the best actors in films. He came into the film hood with such confidence and authority that his era has been named the golden era of Tamil cinemas. An acting career that lasted for over five decades, he has acted in more than 300 films during his life. He acted in the Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi film industries. He is also a much-decorated actor. Being the first Indian to receive the “Best Actor” Award in the International Film Festival, an Afro-Asian Film Festival that took place is Cairo, in 1960, he also received the President's Award for “Best Actor in Tamil” many times.

During his visit to the United States, in June 1995, he visited Colombus, Ohio, where the mayor, Greg Lashutka honored him by calling him the honorary citizen of Columbia. He also received four film fare awards and one National Film Awards The National Film Awards gets presented every year >> Read More... . But the pinnacle of his acting career was receiving the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest honor for films in India, in the year 1997.

He also went on to receive the NTR National Award in 1998. He had a short, unsuccessful political career. He was a Rajya Sabha MP by Indira Gandhi. Although soon after her death, his political career in the Rajya Sabha ended. Suffering from severe heart disease and respiratory infection, Sivaji Ganesan died on 21st July 2001 at 7:45 PM.