KrishnanPnaju A.Bhimsingh
P.Madhavan. A.P.Nagarajan.
A.C.Thirulogchandar.
K.Vijayan C.V.Rajendran.
Unlike MGR,Sivaji Ganesan was a director's actor.He was malleable and could be made to perform roles as the directors expected him to do and he would most often do much more than what they really expected of him.Quite a lot of directors of Sivaji were themselves the fans of this exemplary actor.Though many were proud of directing Sivaji movies,half a dozen men claim the distinct place of directing Sivaji Ganesan as many times as possible they are A.BhimsinghA.P.Nagarajan,C.V.Rajendran,A.C.Thirulogchandar,P.Madhavan and K.Vijayan. These were followed by other popular directors like B.R.Pantulu,C.V.Sridhar K.S.Gopalakrishnan and Muktha Srinivasan.
Though Krishnan Panju the duo, take the credit for directing 'Parasakthi' the first film of Sivaji Ganesan and later his other popular films like 'Pudhayal''Dheivapiravi' 'Kungumam' and 'Uyarndha Manithan',it was A.Bhimsingh who felt delighted in bringing out the hidden treasure house of acting in Sivaji Ganesan. Starting with Raja Rani, A.Bhimsingh has directed nearly fifteen films of Sivaji Ganesan. Almost all his films with Sivaji Ganesan, were his best and beautiful releases that found a lasting place in the filmography of Tamil Cinema. His magnificent productions were Padhibakthi,Baagapirivinai,Padikkaadha Medhai, Paasamalar Paalum Pazhamum,Paava Mannippu,Padithaal Mattum Podhumaa,Paar Magale Paar, Pazhani, Shanthi Paarthaal Pasitheerum and'Bantha Paasam'.
A.Bhimsingh was an expert in creating family dramas with deeper emotions entangling the protagonist, pushing him to the extremes of sacrifice for the sake of his parents or siblings.The hero was shown as the victim of circumstances leading to a cloud of misunderstanding among the family members and the climax showing the hero as a perfect human being calling for emulation by others. Noble themes and story lines upholding traditional values,cathartic developments and exaltation of personal and family edifices were the priorities of this mighty maker of Sivaji movies. Sivaj brilliantly carried on the roles assigned to him making Bhimsingh a member of his fan club.Interestingly almost all the Sivaji Ganesan films directed by A.Bhimsingh,started with letter P {Pa' inTamil}and some of the outstanding films in this regard were Paasamalar,Paalum Pazhamum,Padikkadha Medhai,Padithaal Mattum Podhuma,Paarthaal Pasitheerum and Pazhani.
A.P.Nagarajan,the grand master of mythical expositions on the big screen,seems to have been carried away by the voice and vigour of Sivaji's acting demeanour. He not only made fabulous mythical films like Thiruvilaiyaadal,Saraswathi Sabatham, Kandhan Karunai Thiruvarutchelvar and Thirumaal Perumai but also came out with interesting family -oriented scripts like Kulamagal Raadhai Vadivukku Valaikaappu, Gurudhatchanai Vilaiyaattuppillai and the most gripping Thillaanaa Mohanaambaal. Besides, he also directed the historical film 'Raja Raja Cholan' with Sivaji donning the title role.The distinct characteristics of A.P.N were his high quality literary Tamil dialogues,the strength of veracity in his approach to mythical subjects and the precision followed in the presentation of necessary settings besides making the events relevant to the respective genre of narration.
Truth and dedication were the two predominant mottoes of APN's directorial perceptions and he never deviated from this fundamental concept of film making in any of his ventures. Choice of actors to represent various roles,focus on correct costumes, makeup sense,and validity of setting formulations were the additional realities that made all his narrations true to the base of his film making process.He etched out the characters with the conviction of a creative genius and supervised all the sequences leading to the completion of the project in its perfect form.Those were great days and to think of such men breathing the fresh air of creativity would lead one to nostalgic moments re-installing scenes of a glorious past.
C.V.Rajjendran was a different kind of film maker with a light mind to recreate and entertain.His films like 'Raja','Needhi','Enmagan','Vaani Rani'' Sivagamityin Selvan' and 'Unakkaaga Naan' were all remakes of Hindi movies.This director's focus was entertaining the audience with warmth and grace like light showers on a Summer evening.His only movie of Sivaji Ganesan with a tragic course of events was 'Vaazhkai' His breezy narration of lighter themes could be watched with enthusiasm in films like 'Kalaattaa Kalyaanam' and 'Sumathi En Sundhari'.Like A. Bhimsingh C.V.Rajendran has also directed about fifteen movies of Sivaji Ganesan and besides the list of films mentioned above,'Ponnoojal' and 'Manidharul Manickam' need a special mention.C.V.R seems to have made his films with a sense of ease as if he was making cakes or puddings for an effortless but effective reach with the audience.
A.C.Thirogchandar was one among the most sensitive film makers,loaded with scripts projecting the hero as a superior human being endowed with a lot of sentiments and ennobling emotional stuff committed to the well being of others.Though the narration of events would appear to be melodramatic,the over all impact would be the transmission of a feel of exaltation to the viewers through a brief celluloid session of lessons in noble living.Some of his electrifying shows were 'Baabu','Iru Malargal' 'EnThambi','Engirundho Vandhaal','Bharatha Vilas','Deivamagan' 'Doctor Shiva' and 'Avanthaaan Manithan'. His other memorable films were 'Thangai', 'Thirudan' 'Enga Maamaa' Anbe Aaruyire' and 'Ennaippol Oruvan'.It was a melting process for the protagonist in the hands of the director and the end result was the audience too began to melt down watching the life models of humility,consummate love and total surrender of the self before the ennobling goals of life.These were attitudes of an individual frame of mind capable of passing on the element of goodness to others.It was a supreme idealistic approach to make creativity a soul making endeavour. To think of a man like A.C.Thirilogchandar, is to undergo an experience in an ideal zone.
P.Madhavan's film making attitude was a balanced combination of emotions and real life situations causing a telling impact on story and character-formation.One could say that he was a creator with a realistic approach towards interpreting how human contexts played a vital role in one's life.Most of his films would make us confront life's actual happenings on the screen with of course, the inevitable relevance to the prevalent, individual and social attributes of that particular period, during when, his films were made.The best of his qualitative movies that were also box office hits were, 'Gnana Oli' 'Vietnam Veedu','Pattikkadaa Pattanamaa','Raman Ethanai Ramanadi','Thangapadhakkam' 'Enga Oor Raja' and 'Rajapart Rengadurai'.Even the rest of the nearly fifteen films of Sivaji Ganesan that he made, can not be said to have failed in their purpose of creation. As a director of Sivaji Ganesan,P.Madhavan can claim a special position because,he could evolve the chief character of his films with a strategic base and precisely connect the evolution of the character, with a contextual fitment code, so as to carry on his narration through a sharper focus on the interrelated course of events, leading to a sense of completeness in watching his films.There was a consistent thrust of seriousness in purpose and a commitment to neatness in presentation, that made Madhavan an outstanding film maker of his time.
K.Vijayan,like C.V.Rajendran and A.C.Thirulogchandar, was closer to the Sujatha Cine Arts production house of K.Balaji. He too re-created films like 'Viduthalai','Thiagam' and 'Deepam' from other languages and his 'Thirisoolam' produced by Sivaji Films,became a silver jubilee hit besides his other great film 'Annan Oru Koil' He made about ten movies of Sivaji Ganesan and some of the other notable films in this list were 'Nallathoru Kudumbam', 'Nirabarathi' and 'Rojavin Raja'. Like C.V.Rajendran, Vijayan also threw his lot with the family and action genres of films and his genuine credentials for providing quality entertainment were well known.
B.R.Panthulu would have directed about seven films of Sivaji Ganesan starting from 'Thangamalai Ragasiyam' and the most hilarious comedy 'Sabash Meena'. He made historical and mythological block busters like 'Veera Pandia Kattabomman' 'Karnan' and 'Kappaloettia Thamizhan'.His 'Muradan Muthu' and 'Bale Paandia' were great in narration and true to their respective theme and story line . K.S.Gopalakrishnan the master story teller enjoyed equally creditable comfort levels with Sivaji Ganesan in using his acting excellence for his successful story lines in 'Selvam','Kulama Gunama','Kai Kodutha Deivam' and 'Pesum Deivam'.
T.R.Ramanna who could be proud of directing the only movie [Koondukkili]that MGR and Sivaji acted together,also made 'Thangachurangam' and 'Sorgam' with Sivaji as hero. Muktha Films Srinivasan made a few hits like 'Niraikudam','Thavapudhalvan' and 'Anbaithedi' all focusing on a specific failing of the protagonist such as evening blindness,day dreaming and craving for stage acting and so on. Sridhar who normally used the softer acting stuff in Gemini Ganesan, Muthuraman and Kalyan Kumar,inducted Sivaji Ganesan to make films like Punarjenmam' , 'Vidivelli''Nenjirukkumvarai' 'Vairanenjam' and 'Sivanthaman' the last in the list being a mega hit Tamil film to be completely shot outside India.
There were other eminent film makers such as L.V.Prasad, [ known for his Sivaji hits like 'Manohara','Mangaiyarthilagam' and 'Iruvar Ulaam' ]D.Yoganand, ['Thaai' 'Thangaikkaga' and 'Naan Vaazha Vaipen' and several others during the final spell of the Chevalier's acting career ] T.PrakashRao [famous for his wonderful film 'Uthamaputhiran'] and K.S.Prakash Rao for his silver jubilee hit 'Vasantha Maaligai.'Vietnam Veedu Sundaram needs a distinct place for his incomparable film 'Gowravam' that creditably focused on a power packed performance of Sivaji Ganesan in dual roles. K.Shankar,best known for his commendable direction of 'Aalayamani' and 'Aandavan Kattalai' Dadhamirasi, who directed Sivaji's most critically viewed film 'Pudhiya Paravai' and Malliyam Rajagopal whose 'Savaale Samaali' created history as a film with a revolutionary social message,have also found a lasting place in the list of makers of Sivaji movies.
Later, new generation directors like Durai, Manivannan, Barathi Raja,Bagyaraj, Kasturi Raja R.V.Udhayakumar,A.Jegannathan,and K.S.Ravikumar have all joined the list of makers of Sivaji movies at least once. Barathiraja in particular, made a unique mark by making Sivaji do a character with an underplay of emotions and the very title of the movie 'Mudhal Mariadhai' implied an offer of primary reverence to Sivaji Ganesan. All these new generation film makers found it as a special privilege to do a film with that stalwart hero. It should be mentioned that among the half a dozen main makers of Sivaji Ganesan movies, A.Bhimsingh, C.V.Rajendran and K.Vijayan did not work with MGR even for a single film;whereas, the other three men worked for just one movie each, with that mass hero .
For all those who had directed Sivaji Ganesan,it really would have been an astounding task to keep on looking for newer challenges to feed the insatiable histrionic hunger of a world class actor like him. All the directors of Sivaji Ganesan had not only made their hero grow into a multidimensional actor but had also created indelible impressions on their creative tracks with a granary of talents identified in one man and the galaxy of emotions that his face,voice and limbs could pass on uninterruptedly.The greatness of Sivaji's directors was, that they they could provide the actor boundless terminals with numerous vehicles, for a varied and challenging course of journey every time, that made their creative experience, worthy of celebration and remembrance.
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