Sivaji Ganesan

October 1


Sivaji Ganesan (October 1, 1927 - July 21, 2001) was a famous Indian actor and politician. His real name was Villupuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan .
At the age of 9, Ganeshan was so interested in stage plays that he ran away from home to pursue a career in theatre. His mother helped him get into a famous drama troupe.
Ganesan's first film was Paraasakthi in the year 1952 opposite noted actress Pandari Bai. The script for the movie was written by Karunanidhi. He has acted in about 300 movies, including nine Telugu movies,one Kannada movie, two Malayalam movies and two Hindi movies.
The name 'Sivaji' was given to him after his excellent stage performance as Emperor Shivaji[citation needed]. He is also known as Nadigar Thilagamand Nadippu Chakravarthy (loosely translated "King of Kings" of acting). He was a major actor of his period in South Indian cinema.
Awards:
Best Actor Award, Afro-Asian Film Festival, Cairo, Egypt 1960
Padma Shri Title, 1966
Padma Bhushan Title, 1984
Chevalier, the Order of Arts and Literature by the Ministry of Culture, Government of France.
Dadasaheb Phalke Award, 1996
Kalaimamani