Sivaji Ganesan

Sivaji Ganesan represents the towering, theatrical tradition of Indian cinema that I find endlessly compelling. Born in 1928, he bridged stage and screen and shaped Tamil film for half a century, while also serving as producer and politician. Being called one of India's greatest actors, and the most imitated, is the highest possible compliment, because imitation means an artist defined a language others still speak. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award and Padma Bhushan only formalize what audiences already knew. He passed in 2001, yet his influence clearly outlived him. I wish I could have witnessed that legendary intensity in a packed theatre.

Name (English)

Sivaji Ganesan

Name (Japanese)

シヴァージ・ガネーシャン

Reading

しゔぁーじ・がねーしゃん

Born

October 1, 1928 – July 21, 2001

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Libra / Dragon

Origin

Viluppuram, Viluppuram district, India

Occupation

stage actor / film actor / politician / film producer / actor

Awards & achievements

• Dadasaheb Phalke Award
• NTR National Award
• Filmfare Awards South
• Padma Bhushan
• Padma Shri in arts

• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sivaji%20Ganesan
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B7%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B8%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AC%E3%83%8D%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B5%E3%83%B3
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1395425

Tags

• Viluppuram district
• stage actor
• film actor
• politician

Last updated

2026-06-17

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.