[Pic: hindu.com]
Not many would be as lucky as us to witness this greatest actor of the last century. If you think that Sivaji Ganesan shouldn’t be called like that, you hadn’t probably seen the essence of his acting, still.
There are lot of movies that one could re-collect, while talking about Sivaji. Apart from all those Paasamalar, Paavamaippu types, which I love, there are a couple of movies that I feel that were radical in Sivaji’s career.
One, Uthama Puthiran which re-defined tamil cinema’s horizon. Sivaji in dual roles, as the vivacious and the pleasant Parthiban, was at his best. Especially as Vikraman he displayed plethora of emotions and also paved way for splendiferous anti-hero roles. Who would forget the classy moving camera shots and the amazing Yaaradi Nee Mohini dance sequence. It was well ahead of time and was path breaking.
Two, Muthal Mariyadhai which showed that Sivaji has grown over period and has learnt the art of adapting roles that would well suit his age. It was in a way the making of the older Sivaji. Bharathiraja‘s taste for village romance and Sivaji’s tact of getting deep into the skin’s character met chords. The old man – young woman romance of Mudhal Mariyadhai was in a way a brisk effort by Bharathiraja and Sivaji elevated the movie to different heights. Forget not the excellant performace ‘foul mouthed’ Vadivukarasi. And ofcourse, the Poongatru Thirumbuma wonder song by Illayaraja. Chef-d’oeuvre.
Having lost Sivaji Ganesan to the good old destiny, I couldn’t wish him Happy B’day Dude!!, rather earn for his return to the acting deprived Kollywood. Hence will that Poongatru Thirumbuma [breeze come back ] ?.
kirukkal.com 
13 responses to “Poongatru Thirumbuma ?…”
Sorry for the offtrack comment…
LG… “Swades” –> Pl. listen & comment
ARR….BACK after a long while 🙂
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Sivaji was the ultimate KING of acting, he has played some sensational roles. I pity that very few ppl outside TamilNadu(read tamizh ppl) recogonise his acting skills. His films/characters should have been research subjects in universities both india & abroad. He couldn’t get any recognition in India, but thankfully french awarded him with ‘Chevalier’. Having seen actors in other language films both national & international, i could say that not even a single guy could stand his majestic walk (Raja-nadai), forget about acting. He would perfectly fit in any character. He’s truly the incomparable king of acting. I didn’t want to mention any particular roles cos that would be insult to other roles.
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Another off track comment. Am surprised why u didnt wish Lata Mangeshkar a Happy Bday… 🙂
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Ajay, Is the mus’ic out already ? Didn’t know about
that. Thanks for the note.
Jai, You are right, mentioning one of his roles may not do justice to others which he played but I did wanted to share what I enjoyed most among the lot.
Latha, I actually wasn’t aware of her birthday today. You probably remember you share the first name with her. Right ?
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Hey! I don’t watch a lot of tamil movies but I have watched a few of Sivaji Ganesan’s movies. Well….he is mind blowing and that is an understatement.
I have a small grouse. why do you refer to Tamil film industry as Kollywood? I feel that the word Kollywood in itself is so frivolous and sems like a pathetic imitation of Hollywood which it obviosuly isnt. Bollywood is also crappy.
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What do you call this, Shoba? Was just browsing through your blog and got hold of that nice cobrapost.com link. That’s mind blowing too.
BTW, thanks for the complain. I indeed can be kicked for calling tamil industry as kollywood. but i am not the only one. anyway, it is so easy to refer instead of tamil film industry which makes the whole word so formal.
probably can slowly start giving a diff name or use tfi as the keyword. whatcha say?
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The pic in the blog is from one of his greatest classics, “Gowravam.” I wrote a review of the movie for my “Favorite Movies” section…here’s an excerpt:
If I were to choose 10 of my favorite characters, it would have Velu Nayakar from Nayagan at the No. 1 position and Cheeyaan from Sethu at No.2; and somewhere in the top ten, would definitely figure Barrister Rajnikanth, from this movie. In one of his deservedly famous performances, Sivaji brings the character to life with startling intensity. His monologues about his dedication to his craft and his explanations for his behavior are brilliant and he sparkles in almost all of his scenes, rarely striking a false note. His resonating voice and flawless dialogue delivery play no small part in adding gloss to his portrayal. He nicely demarcates between this and the Kannan character. The meek, good-hearted Kannan is not nearly as attention arresting as the Rajnikanth character but that is the nature of the character and the difference between the two roles.
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Well.TFI….not bad but well.abbreviations are kinda dicey, not everybody is comfortable with them. I think Hindi film industry or tamil film industry may be 3 whole words instead of a Bollywood or a Kollywood but it atleast lends dignity which the latter doesn’t. 🙂
Cobrapost, yea, its a nice site by Aniruddha Bahal, the tehekla guy! 🙂 And I am ShobHa with an extra “h” 😉
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Shivaji was a great actor. But he needs a good director to restrain his theaterics. I think 90% of his films had him overflowing with emotions or not having any at all. I really loved him in Thiruvilaiyadal in his role as the shiva-in-the-garb-of-fisherman, the walk is unforgettable!
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Sivaji was definitely a great actor. Not being alive when he was in his heyday I grew up watching a lot of his films on video. Watching today’s films and then watching, well, almost anything with Sivaji, you realize just what a presence he was. He made some mediocre films watchable and made good/great films even better.
That said, sometimes directors and writers seemed to be overly enamored with his amazing dialogue delivery. I recently re-watched Navarathiri (A.P. Nagarajan) and was surprised at how many long speeches Sivaji had. They bogged the film down somewhat, but the film is a great example of Sivaji’s versatility. Nine different characters. An outlaw, a lothario, a villager, an elderly doctor, etc. Amazing job.
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One movie that stands out in my memory-is Balachander’s Ethiroli- No one else could have portrayed the part of an honest lawyer caught
between the torture of a Blackmailer(also superbly done by Major Sunderrajan) and having to break the 7 commandments that him and his family swear by, with such perfection. To see Sivaji being tormented by the sound of the Calling Bell going beep beep beep(or somewhat like that) is a hair-raising experience!.Hats off to him.I cud watch that movie over and over again along with Thillana Mohanambal.
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Yes, “Ethiroli” was a fine but underrated movie. I think it was KB’s only film with Shivaji. True, Sunderrajan steals the show as the blackmailer. He once said in an interview that a fellow actor (whose name I cant recall) told him, “Dey, Sivaji-ya Ethiroli-la kannaa pinnaa-nu paduthittiye!” and also added that it was a great compliment. Too bad that neither of these wonderful actors are alive today…but I guess they’ve gained immortality thro’ their work.
Ram
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“What is acting? It means doing something that is not natural. So then where is the question of overacting? When your mother dies, what do you do? You shout Amma and cry, don’t you? Your instant reaction is to cry out loud. Not sit quietly covering your eyes with your hands. That’s exactly what I do in my films.”
-Sivaji Ganesan
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