Delhi Ganesh,one of the most celebrated character actors of Tamil cinema is no more today.Born as Ganesan in Tirunelveli,he took the Delhi prefix,after being a significant part of the Dehi drama troupe.It was K.Balachander 'the peerless peak' among directors,who first put him on the Tamil cinema map with a breaking entry in Pattinapravesam,released in 1976. From then on, he made nearly a five decade journey through the tinsel world,acting in more than 400 films with his last appearance in Shankar's Indian,as a corrupt bureaucrat. Besides his very busy film schedule he has acted in about forty television serials starting from Ippadikku Thenral to Ilakkiya.Delhi Ganesh fits himself neatly into paternal roles, as a perfect father figure.
Aaha,Arasu, Aanandham,Saamy 1&2, Edhiri,Vettaikkaran and Thenavettu are a few outstanding samples of the numerous father roles he played.Of these Anandam will be ever remembered for his excellent role performance as the patriarch of a well knit joint family.On the comedy side, Delhi Ganesh has scored most remarkable innings in films like Nayagan Michael Madhana Kamarajan, Tenali, Avvai Shanmugi and Kadhala Kadhala. Crazi Mohan's dialogues added pep to their joint show.It was a perfect combination of wit and humour creating the best laughter moments. With the same fervor, this great actor performed a villain role,in Kamal's Abhoorva Sagodharargal.He also acted in several Rajini films and his emotional performance as Appanna in Sri Ragavendra, carried an excellent appeal.His other notable films include Pasi, Vijay's Kavalan and Vishal's Irumbuthirai.
Even in elderly governing roles, one could see him casually mixing humor in performing his character, with interesting twists in dialogues as seen in Tamizhan.Delhi Ganesh has also frequently joined Visu's band wagon, for films like Chidambara Ragasiyam, Samsaaram Adhu Minsaaram and Pattukottai Periyappa. As a dipsomaniac he did captivating roles,in K.Balachande'r Sindhu Bhairavi and Sundar.C's London.What takes him closer to the audience as an endearing actor is his soothing,clear and impressive dialogue delivery, as a spontaneous byproduct of acting.Perhaps it is his stage sense that has made him deliver dialogues with utmost comfort and ease.Delhi Ganesh was also a dubbing artist for Malayalam actors Pratap Pothen and Nedumudi Venu,for the Telugu hero Chiranjeevi and the Kannada hero Vishnuvardhan.
Sometimes character actors surpass heroes in audience memory.Delhi Ganesh is in the list of proud character actors of Tamil cinema like S.V.Renga Rao,T.S.Balaiah,S.V.Subbiah, S.V.Sahasranamam, V.K.Ramasamy,V.Nagaiah and T.K.Bhagavadhi.But when it comes to humour Delhi Ganesh will undoubtedly excel the list of actors cited,because there was always a breezy feel in his flair for comedy that naturally got into audience mood and made them rejoice.Perhaps S.V.Renga Rao and T.S.Balaiah would be the fitting companions of Delhi Ganesh in spreading light humour free from even a trace of vulgarity.Remembering Delhi Ganesh is not just a matter of lip service but is a way of genuinely preserving the vast galaxy of his acting profiles with a sense of acknowledgement and gratitude to someone,whose heart and soul were profoundly tied to the life breath of acting,be it the stage,or the big and small screens.
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