On Sivaji Ganesan's 93rd birthday, Google pays doodle tribute

Chennai

Sivaji Ganesan needs no introduction. The innumerablecharacters he made memorable on screen gave him a permanent place in the heartsof millions of movie-goers, and he still lives there, 20 years after he passedaway on July 21, 2001, at the age of 73.

On Friday, October 1, to celebrate his 93rd birth anniversary, the legendaryactor, who was also a recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, the country'shighest award for cinema, has been honoured by Google with a Google Doodle.

The Google Doodle, created by a guest artist from Bengaluru, Noopur RajeshChoksi, has brought back fond memories of the legend, popularly known as the"Marlon Brando of Indian cinema", who was adored for his performancesin Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam movies, and also in Sinhalese and Hindiproductions.

Born as Villupuram Chinniah Ganesan, or V.C. Ganesan, at Villupuram in the thenSouth Arcot district of Tamil Nadu, Sivaji Ganesan entered the world of theatreat the young age of 7. He started playing child and female roles at a young agein popular theatre groups, and also trained in three dance forms --Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Manipuri.

Ganesan's big break in acting came when he was portraying the Maratha King,Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, in the play 'Sivaji Kanda Samrajyam', written anddirected by the late former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and doyen of Dravidianpolitics, C.N. Annadurai.

The name Sivaji became iconic and Ganesan retained the name throughout hisextraordinarily brilliant acting carrier. The big break for the legendary actorcame with the Tamil film, 'Parasakthi', directed by Krisnan-Panju and writtenby M. Karunanidhi, DMK leader and late former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Critics have listed several movies as his best, but Sivaji Ganesan himselfrated his performance as V.O. Chidambaram in and as 'Kappalottiya Thamizhan' ashis most memorable one.

Sivaji Ganesan was remembered for his extraordinary flair for dialoguedelivery. He pioneered an exquisite style, diction, tone and tenor. His styleof dialogue delivery helped him play such mythological and historicalcharacters as Lord Shiva in ('Thiruvilaiyaadal'), the great Chola emperor inand as 'Raja Raja Cholan', the Vaishnavite saint (and one of the 12 Alvarsrevered in southern India), Periyalvar, in 'Thirumal Perumal', and theseventh-century Shaivite saint Appar in 'Thiruvarutchelvar'.

The legend was addressed as 'Nadigar Thilagam' (literally translated as 'thepride of actors') for his all-around acting performance, but ironically, Sivajidid not receive any National Award, except for a Special Jury Mention for acameo appearance in the Kamal Haasan-starrer 'Thevar Magan' released in 1992.Predictably, the legend rejected the award.

The French government, however, bestowed upon him its highest decoration,Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honour, in 1995.

Sivaji Ganesan was unsuccessful in politics, unlike his compatriot M.G.Ramachandran, fondly referred to as MGR, who became Chief Minister and one ofthe most popular leaders of the state. His 'Parasakthi' scriptwriter M.Karunanidhi, too, went on to become Chief Minister.

The legend was engaged in politics as a Dravida Kazhagam activist and later asa member of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), but he crossed over to theCongress in the late 1950s.

He joined hands with the Congress (O) led by another Tamil leader K. Kamaraj,after the Congress split in 1969 and later aligned himself with Indira Gandhiafter the passing away of Kamaraj. Eventually, Sivaji Ganesan left the Congressand floated his own 'Tamizhaga Munnetra Munnani in 1989, but had to face acrushing defeat at the electoral hustings.

The cinema legend could not become a political superstar.