Gemini Ganesan

Biography:

An Indian actor who primarily performed in Tamil films, Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005) was also known by his stage name, Gemini Ganesan. His romantic parts in movies earned him the title of Kaadhal Mannan, or King of Romance.

Along with Sivaji Ganesan and M. G. Ramachandran, Ganesan was considered one of the “three biggest names of Tamil cinema”. Gemini Ganesan gained popularity for his romance flicks, although Sivaji Ganesan was best known for his dramatic films and M. G. Ramachandran was a well-liked action star.

He was the winner of the Screen Lifetime Achievement Award, the MGR Gold Medal, the Kalaimamani, and the Padma Shri in 1971, among other honors. At the time, he was among the select few college grads to break into the movie business.

Despite making his stage debut with Miss Malini in 1947, Gemini Ganesan did not get recognition until he played the antagonist in Thai Ullam in 1953. He eventually became a fame after starring in Manam Pola Mangalyam (1954).

But unlike Sivaji Ganesan or Ramachandran, Gemini Ganesan never entered politics and was not a stage performer. Ganesan performed in more than 200 movies over his extensive career, which spanned more than 50 years. A. M. Rajah and P. B. Sreenivas, two successful playback singers, complemented his performances on screen.

Ganesan has had a renowned cinema career, but his personal life—especially his several marriages to women over the years, including the well-known Indian actress Savitri—has frequently come under fire. Among his eight children was the actress Rekha.

Born in 1920 as Ramasamy Ganesan to Ramasamy and the Devadasi Gangammal, Gemini Ganesan was raised in a Devadasi household. Narayanaswami, the grandfather of Ganesan, served as the principal of Pudukkottai’s Maharajah’s College.

Narayanaswami later resided with Chandramma, a Devadasi girl who worked as a musician and dancer in a temple, after losing his first wife. Notable offspring of Narayanaswami and Chandramma were Gemini Ganesan’s father Ramaswamy and Muthulakshmi.

Ganesan’s father passed away shortly after the death of his grandfather, when he was in the sixth grade. In the meantime, Muthulakshmi (now known as Muthulakshmi Reddi) had done well in school and graduated to become a doctor.

She was well-educated, wealthy, and completely freed from the lifestyle that her mother and maternal ancestors had followed. In fact, she went so far as to lead a social reform movement that sought to abolish the Devadasi system.

Her contribution to the Devadasi Abolition Act’s passage through parliament was significant. Following his father’s passing, Ganesan and his mother Bhagirathi relocated to his aunt Muthulakshmi’s house in Madras, which is now Chennai.

Although Muthulakshmi gave refuge to her mother Chandramma, Bhagirathi, and Ganesan, she treated her impoverished relatives with contempt and felt humiliated of them due to their history as nautch girls.

She showered the two widows with insults and made sure they avoided showing their faces to everyone who came to the house. Reluctant to accept the circumstances, Chandramma and Bhagirathi went back to Pudukkottai. But they left Ganesan with his aunt, hoping he would become a well-read and devout man.

Muthulakshmi chose to enroll Ganesan in the Ramakrishna Mission Home because she was a devoted devotee of Ramakrishna. He was forced to read the Bhagavad Gita and received instruction in languages and yoga while he was there.

But as he could not stand to be apart from his mother, who lived in Pudukkottai, he went back to his hometown and attended a high school there. Later on, he enrolled at the nearby Maharajah’s College. Nonetheless, he graduated from Chennai’s Madras Christian College.

A doctor’s career was Ganesan’s dream. He visited T. R. Alamelu at Trichinopoly (now Tiruchirappalli) in April 1940. Alamelu’s father promised him a medical seat upon graduation and made a marriage proposal to his daughter.

Ganesan consented right away, and in June 1940 he wed Alamelu. Within a month of her marriage, Alamelu lost both her father and her older sister. Ganesan’s aspirations to study medicine were dashed. Since he was the only one providing for his family, he had no choice but to look for work right away.

The Indian Air Force invited him for an interview. Against the wishes of Alamelu, Ganesan traveled to Delhi. He met his uncle Narayanaswami there, who suggested he pursue a career in teaching. Lastly, Ganesan was employed by Madras Christian College as a lecturer in the chemistry department.

He was hired as a production executive at Gemini Studios later in 1947, which is how the term “Gemini” came to be appended to his name. He made his cinematic debut through the Studio Itzel casting department.