Remember the iconic scene from Rajinikanth-starrer Padayappa, where Sivaji Ganesan, who plays the superstar's father, goes through a breakdown after a property dispute with his half-sibling Manivannan?
Incidentally, a similar situation has been created in real life in the Ganesan family. Here, the fight is between the sons and daughters of the late veteran actor. They have taken the legal route to sort out an inheritance dispute.
Ganesan's daughters Santhi Narayanasamy and Rajvi Govindarajan have filed a civil suit at the Madras High Court accusing their brothers, actor Prabhu and producer Ramkumar and their sons Vikram Prabhu and Dushyanth Ramkumar Ganesan of fraud, The Quint had reported on 6 July.
Let's take a look at the Ganesan family tree to understand who the members are:
The Sivaji Ganesan family.
(Photo Courtesy: Maruthu Mohan)
WHO IS SIVAJI GANESAN?
Born as Ganesamoorthy on 1 October, 1928, the theatre artiste-turned -actor breathed his last on 21 July, 2001. He earned the title of ‘Sivaji Ganesan’ after his applauseworthy performance as Maratha ruler Shivaji in a 1945 play titled ‘Shivaji Kanda Hindu Rajyam’.
Ganesan made his debut with Parasakthi (1952) and had featured in nearly 300 films in multiple languages such as Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. He ruled the Tamil film industry for over five decades. Some of his best works include Karnan, Vietnam Veedu Sundaram, Paasa Malar, Padayappa and the Kamal Haasan-starrer Thevar Magan.
A still from Thevar Magan, starring Sivaji Ganesan and Kamal Haasan.
(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)
He was the first Indian actor to win the Best Actor award at an international film festival (Afro-Asian Film Festival in Cairo, Egypt) for his performance in Veerapandiya Kattabomman (1960). He was also conferred with the Chevalier de L’Ordre Arts et Lettres (The Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) in 1995.
Ganesan was also given the nickname ‘Nadigar Thilagam’ for his variety of roles and baritone. Like his contemporaries MGR and Jayalalitha, he had also ventured into politics but did not meet with much success. He had initially associated himself with the Dravidian movement under Annadurai and later joined hands with Congress veteran Kamaraj. He even floated his own party under the banner Tamizha Munnetra Munnani (TMM). Ganesan admitted that the party was a disappointment as they lost all the seats in the 1989 elections. Though he became the Janata Dal party state president later, his political career came to an end by 1990.
Sivaji Ganesan, who had ruled the Tamil film industry for over five decades, passed away in 2001.
(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)
WHO IS PRABHU?
(Actor Prabhu is fondly known as 'Ilaya Thilagam').
(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)
Prabhu, the youngest son of Ganesan, is popularly known as 'Ilaya Thilagam' (the younger version). He carved a name for himself with Chinna Thambi (1991). The film earned him a state award for Best Actor.
(A still from Chinna Thambi, starring Prabhu and Khushu Sundar).
(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)
From early on in his career, Prabhu broke stereotypes by not playing the typical larger-than-life hero. He has featured in multi starters, including S. P. Muthuraman's Guru Sishyan with Rajinikanth, and Mani Ratnam's Agni Natchathiram. He has also been a part of supporting roles in films like Jayam Ravi starrer Unakkum Enakkum, Suriya’s Ayan, Ajith’s Billa, Vikram’s Kanthaswamy, Maniratnam’s Raavanan and Dhanush’s 3.
Noted for his performance in Kamal Haasan's Vasool Raja MBBS (2004) and Rajinikanth-starrer Chandramukhi (2005), Prabhu is a very successful actor. He will soon be seen in Thalapathy Vijay’s Varisu (Tamil) and Varasudu (Telugu), directed by Vamshi Paidipally.
WHO IS RAMKUMAR?
Shivaji Ganesan's son Ramkumar.
(Photo courtesy: Twitter)
Ramkumar is the eldest son of Sivaji Ganesan. Along with Prabhu, he takes care of Sivaji Productions. His production house backed the Ajith-starrer Asal (2010). The blockbuster Chandramukhi, which is the Tamil adaptation of the Malayalam classic Manichithrathazhu, was bankrolled by his production house. Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan-starrer Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) is an adaptation of Manichithrathazhu.
Ramkumar has also had extended cameos in films like Aruvadai Naal, My Dear Marthandan, RJ Balaji’s LKG.
Ramkumar looks after Shivaji Productions.
(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)
WHO IS VIKRAM PRABHU?
Vikram Prabhu with his father Prabhu.
(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)
Prabhu's son Vikram Prabhu is currently one of the promising actors of Kollywood. He made his debut with Prabhu Solomon's Kumki (2012). Vikram was last seen in the critically-acclaimed Tamizh’s Taanakkaaran. Vikram is gearing up for Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan, which is scheduled to hit theatres in September.
WHO IS DUSHYANTH RAMKUMAR?
Dushyanth along with his father Ramkumar.
(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)
Ramkumar's son Dushyanth is an actor and producer in the Tamil film industry. He has been a part of films including Success and Machi. After his stint with the Sivaji Productions, he launched his own banner ‘Eshan Productions’, which produced Meen Kuzhambum Mann Paanaiyum. It was the 200th film of Prabhu. Dushyanth will now be seen in the Ajmal-starrer Theerkadarishi.
Dushyanth and his father had also joined the BJP in 2021.
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