Google Doodle remembers Sivaji Ganesan, the tallest actor in Tamil Cinema

Trained in many dance forms, Sivaji Ganesan worked in many languages and had an acute understanding of mythological texts.

Google has celebrated the life and works of acting maestro Sivaji Ganesan on his 92nd birth anniversary with a doodle. One of the most respected names in the Tamil film industry, Ganesan was once called the Marlon Brando of South India’s film industry. He was conferred upon the highest honour for cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, in 1997.

Ganesan, whose name was synonymous with quality and commercial success in the ‘60s and ‘70s in many languages, was much more than just an actor. His influence on popular culture was unbelievable as his hairstyles and clothes immediately became the choice of the masses.

While working in nearly 288 languages including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi, Ganesan maintained a high profile status of an actor known for delivering long dialogues and who has acute understanding of the Indian mythological texts. He was also a trained dancer in Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Manipuri dance forms.

His initial roles of substance came with a recommendation from the late Tamil Nadu CM M Karunanidhi, but he soon found his footing and amazed everyone with his charm.

Interested in acting since his childhood, Ganesan was a risk taker. He played some negative shade characters in the beginning of his career before moving on to mostly positive roles.

The rivalry between him and MGR was always a talk of the town with both of them reaching new heights of acting.

Sivaji Ganesan passed away in 2001 aged 72.