Gemini Ganesan: On- screen Romancer and Off-screen Casanova

Gemini Ganesan and Savitri

The  actor hero crooned and danced his way into the hearts of many lovely heroines on screen, the off-screen  Gemini too romanced many women in real life

By
D.B.S. Jeyaraj

Popular Tamil cinema actor Gemini Ganesan whose 101st birth anniversary falls on November 17th  is regarded widely as the greatest romantic lover in Tamil cinema . In a career spanning more than five decades Gemini Ganesan made his mark in Tamil films as the romantic hero par excellence. In fact he was dubbed “Kaadhal Mannan,” meaning “King of Romance”. What is most interesting about Gemini Ganesan is the fact that his romantic  on-screen and off-screen persona got intertwined   in reel life and real  life.

 

 While the  actor hero crooned and danced his way into the hearts of many lovely heroines on screen, the off-screen  Gemini too romanced many women in real life. 

Gemini had four wives plus several liaisons including live -in relationships with attractive women. He himself admitted to his numerous affairs with other married women to the  Indian magazine”Debonair” in an interview . When the magazine wanted more details, Gemini declined to elaborate saying, “Gentlemen don’t tell!”

In keeping with the practice of devoting at least one article in the early weeks of each month to a cinema-related topic, this column focuses on Gemini Ganesan  this week.  I have written about him earlier  and  shall rely upon some of these writings to help  revive pleasant memories of an actor who gave me and millions of others immense pleasure through his movies.

I would like to  start off  this article on a personal note.  I was in 1974  a student for a short stint at Madras Christian College (MCC) in Chennai , the institution from where Gemini Ganesan graduated. In July 1974, three of us  MCC students , cut lectures and went to see Gemini at his residence. We had seen his film ‘Naan Avanillai’ for the second time the previous day and were highly impressed. We felt the urge to meet him in person and on a sudden whim thought of going to see him.

When he was told that three MCC students were at the gate, he invited us in. Gemini seemed rather surprised at our turning up suddenly but was most gracious. Gemini was happy that we appreciated his  latest film.It was released on June 7th but had not done well at the box-office. He chatted with us for nearly three hours on a number of topics including his films and his days at MCC. He was a wonderful conversationalist with a great sense of humour. Some jokes were slightly risqué.  At the end of it all, Gemini admonished us gently for playing truant from college and coming to see him. He said he had received us only because we were students at MCC and advised us to concentrate on our studies and not get distracted by sideshows. Finally Gemini Ganesan bade farewell after instructing his driver to drop us off  at the Nungambakkam station to take the electric train to Tambaram where MCC was located.

Gemini and his actress – spouse Savitri were very popular in Sri Lanka known formerly as Ceylon . The couple had many fans from all communities in the Island. Savitri in particular had a lot of female fans. I remember Gemini and Savitri arriving together by plane from India at the Ratmalana airport in the early sixties of the last century. They were the chief guests at a cultural event named ‘Silamboli’ or ‘Tone of the Anklets’. Hundreds of fans mobbed them at the airport. The newspapers in all three languages published photographs of their arrival on the front pages
Gemini Ganesan hailed from a Brahmin family. His father was Ramaswami and mother Gengamma. His given name at birth was Ganapathi Subramanian Sarma but was generally called Ganesan. Soon he became known as Ramaswami Ganesan or R. Ganesh. In some of the earlier films in which Ramaswami Ganesan acted, the credits show him only as R.G or R.Ganesh. As his screen career blossomed, the actor became known as “Gemini” Ganesan.

The prefix “Gemini” came into being because prior to acting Ganesan had worked as casting director at the prestigious Gemini studios in Tamil Nadu. By a coincidence his contemporary and namesake Sivaji Ganesan too got the prefix “Sivaji” due to his acting as the Mahratta King Sivaji  in a drama written by former DMK Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai. Soon the Tamil film industry began distinguishing between the two Ganesans by calling one Sivaji and the other Gemini.

MGR, Sivaji and Gemini
Sivaji Ganesan, M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) and Gemini Ganesan comprised the triumvirate that dominated Tamil movies from the fifties to the seventies of the 20th century. Another actor of the time, S.S. Rajendran, strove valiantly to make this trio a quartet but failed. 

The top thespian trinity of that vintage in Tamil cinema were Sivaji, MGR and Gemini. They ruled the roost in the Tamil Nadu film industry in those days.

Gemini however was the odd man out among the top three. Unlike MGR and Sivaji, he had no professional experience as a stage actor. Both MGR and Sivaji had learnt the ropes as part of the Madurai Boys Company drama group.  However unlike them Gemini had tertiary qualifications. He was a BSc graduate from Madras University whereas the others, having taken to the stage in childhood, acquired learning  from the school of life.

MGR and Sivaji encouraged fans associations and participated in political activity but Gemini remained aloof from politics. He even declined a Rajya Sabha MP nomination proposal by former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. While he was always cordial towards fans and friends, he never promoted “Rasikar Mandrangal” (fan associations). This phenomenon continues to this day in Tamil Nadu  with proliferating fans associations dedicated to various film stars.

While MGR’s plus point in screen performances   was swashbuckling action sequences and Sivaji impressed with   powerful dialogue delivery, Gemini cooed and wooed his way into many a heart. All the world loves a lover! Gemini was the greatest lover on Tamil silver screen, making hearts flutter. His handsome features, dashing personality, cavalier attitude, soft speech, twinkling eyes and impish humour proved an irresistible combination. Girls blushed as Gemini’s soulful eyes from the screen seemed to penetrate the innermost depths of their hearts.

Though he proved his mettle in many movies with fight scenes and heavy duty dialogue, Gemini was not classed as a fighter or actor in the MGR-Sivaji mould. This softie image led to a nickname “Saambhaar” or vegetable broth. Gemini was also called Ganesh, Gemini Mama and RG. His real name Ramaswamy Ganesan was soon forgotten.
“Gemini” Ganesan was born on 17 November 1920 into a well-educated middle class Brahmin family in Pudukkottai which was then a principality(Samasthaanam)  subservient to the British colonial rulers. It was ruled by hereditary kings known s  “Rajah”. Pudukkottai was absorbed into  the Indian union after independence from the British  and is now a district in Tamil Nadu state.

SS Vasan’s Gemini Studios
After receiving secondary education at Rajahs College in Pudukkottai,  Ganesan moved to Chennai for higher studies. He  studied at Madras Christian College and graduated with a BSc degree.Ganesan  worked as a demonstrator in chemistry for a while at his alma mater. Utterly bored with academia, he obtained employment at Gemini Studios run by the  Legendary Movie Moghul  S. Sreenivasan known as S.S. Vasan. Vasan’s father-in-law Ramachandran was Gemini Ganesan’s grand uncle.

Ganesan worked as casting director at Gemini Studios. One of his duties was to interview prospective actors and actresses. Among his finds were the famous actors Chandrababu, Ranga Rao, Savitri and Balaji. As stated earlier , It was this stint at Gemini Studios that bestowed upon Ganesan his name Gemini.

Gemini’s first film role was in ‘Miss Malini,’ a film based on a short story by R.K. Narayan. His name in the credits was R.G. Later he played Lord Krishna in ‘Chakradhari’. He came to be noticed as an actor by playing the villain opposite R.S. Manohar in ‘Thai Ullam’. The turning point  for Gemini was as the hero playing dual roles in the film  ‘Manampol Mankalyam’ in 1952.

From then onwards there was no looking back. Gemini Ganesan  has acted in more than 200 films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi. Most films however were in Tamil his mother tongue. Twenty-eight of his Tamil films where he was the lead actor ran for more than 100 days at a stretch. Three of them celebrated Silver jubilees with each running more than 25 weeks continuously.

Among successful movies that Gemini acted as hero were ‘Kanavane Kan Kanda Theivam,’ ‘Vanjikottai Valiban,’ ‘Kalyanap Parisu,’ ‘Missiyamma,’ “Maya Bazaar”, “Manamulla Maruthaaram”, “Yaar Paiyan”,‘Then Nilavu,’ ‘Meenda Sorgam,’ ‘Sumai Thangi,’ ‘Patha Kanikkai,’ ‘Parthiban Kanavu,’ ‘Kairasi,’ ‘Kalathoor Kannamma’’ Konchum Salangai’ Katpaham,’ ‘Ramu,’ ‘Vaalkai Padagu,’ ‘Shanthi Nilaiyam,’ ‘Thamarai Nenjam,’ “Poova Thalaiyaa”, ‘Vellivila,’ ‘Punnagai’ and ‘Naan Avanillai’.

Gemini also acted in several blockbusters with Sivaji Ganesan where he played second lead. Notable among these were ‘Pennin Perumai,’ ‘Veera Pandiya Kattabhomman,’ ‘Kappalottiya Thamilan,’ ‘Pathi Bhakthi,’ ‘Pavamannippu,’ “Paasamalar”. ‘Parthal Pasi Theerum,’ ‘Kandhan Karunai,’ ‘Saraswathie Sabatham’ and ‘Unakkaha Naan’.

The  only film  Gemi i  acted together with MGR was ‘Muharasi’ where he played MGR’s elder brother. Gemini also starred with S.S. Rajendran in ‘Vairakkiyam’. In the film “Kalathoor Kannamma” Kamal Haasan as a child artiste acted as Gemini’s son. Decades later in the film ‘Avvai Sanmugi,’ the aged Gemini played father-in-law to Kamal. He has also acted as Kamal Haasan’s father in “Unnaal Mudiyum Thamby”.

Gemini- Savitri Duo
Gemini has acted opposite several leading actresses like Anjali Devi, Pushpavalli, Padmini, Vaijayanthimala, Savitri, Devika, Vijayakumari, Saroja Devi, Vanishree, Rajashree, Kanchana, Bharathi, Jayanthi, K.R. Vijaya and Jayalalitha. His screen chemistry with almost all his heroines was superb. However fans liked the real life duo Gemini-Savitri best in reel life too. Sadly Gemini and Savitri got estranged from each other in the 70’s. Savitri died in 1981 after being in a Coma for 19 months.

Some of the love songs Gemini lip synched/ crooned on screen are evergreen numbers. “Kaalangalil Aval Vasanham”, “Katru Veliyidai Kannamma”, “Kadhal Nilve”,”Nilavae Ennidam Nerungaathae”,”Hello Mr. Zamindhar”. “Thuyilaadh Pennondru Kandaen”,Paattupp Paadavaa”, “Kalaiyum Neeyae”, “Madurayil Parandha Meenkodiyai”“Andru Oomaip Pennlloa”, “Valartha Kalai Marandhu Vittaal” and “Vadikkai Marandhathum Aeno” are but some of  these. Several playback singers have sung for Gemini but it was A.M. Rajah, P.B. Sreenivas, A.L. Raghavan , P. Jayachandran and S.P. Balasubramaniam whose voices blended most harmoniously with Gemini’s voice on screen. 

Director’s Actor
Gemini was essentially a director’s actor. Unlike some other top actors of the time, Gemini never imposed himself on the director.

 He was prepared to play any role and willing to be guided by the director when filming.’ Gemini believed that the director was the captain and adhered to their directives obediently. The directors who brought out his acting abilities out best were Vedantham Ragavaiah, A. Bhimsingh. B.R. Bhanthulu, C.V. Sridhar, K. Shankar, K.S. Gopalakrishnan, K. Balachandar and A.P. Nagarajan.

Some of his roles are unforgettable. The ugly dwarf in ‘Kanavanae Kankanda Theivam’; the valiant military commander Velliathevan in ‘Veera Pandiya Kattabhomman’; the freedom fighter Madasamypillai in ‘Kappalottiya Thamilan’; the burdened family man seeking solace as a Catholic priest in ‘Sumai Thangi,’ the widower with child caught up in a triangular relationship in films like ‘Katpaham,’ and ‘Ramu,’ ., the Nathaswaram player lip synching to perfection on screen the music of maestro Karukurichi Arunasalam in ‘Konchum Salangai,; Vikkarama Cholan in ‘Parthiban Kanavu,’ the warrior Veeramallan in ‘Saraswathy Sabatham,’ Lakshmana in ‘Lava Kusa,’ Lord Siva in ‘Kandhan Karunai,’ Lord Krishna in ‘Veera Abhimanyu’ and the devotee to truth in ‘Punnagai’ are some performances lingering in memory.

When the producers of ‘Kanavanae Kankanda Theivam’ were looking for actors to play the lead role, they initially rejected Gemini. This was because the hero in the film is turned into an ugly dwarf due to a curse. The producers felt the handsome, dashing Gamini could not play an ugly dwarf. Gemini was disappointed but not for long.
One morning an ugly dwarf entered the producer’s office begging for alms in a pathetic voice. None could make the “beggar” go away. The producers were about to call the Police when the ugly dwarf bent in double straightened up and revealed that he was none other than Gemini Ganesan. He got the role in the film and played it to perfection.

Many of the films in which Gemini acted were ‘triangular’ love stories. In most instances Gemini would play the man between two women. He played those parts with great sensitivity. His magnum opus however was in his own production, ‘Naan Avanillai’ (I am not he), directed by K. Balachandar. As mentioned earlier it was this film which impelled us MCC students to go and see him in person.

Gemini played seven different roles. The story was about a bigamist posing off as different men in different disguises to different women. It was a case of art imitating life and Gemini was in his element playing all roles. It was a sign of Gemini’s remarkable sense of humour that he chose to film such a story as the only film he has ever produced. Unfortunately it did not click at the box office but he won the “Film Fare” award for best actor.

Wife Alamelu Called “Bopji”
  Gemini’s first and only legal wife was Alamelu, fondly called “Bopji”. Gemini married at 19 and had his first child when 22. This did not prevent further marriages done according to Hindu religious rites. One such wife was Pushpavalli with whom he acted in his first film ‘Miss Malini’. Another was the illustrious actress Savitri, with whom he has acted in many films. She was known as Savitri Ganesh. Even as a septuagenarian Gemini made headlines by his marriage to a woman called Julianna who was half his age. He also had a live-in relationship with the actress Rajashree for some years.

Ganesan’s other extramarital liaisons were numerous and added grist to the gossip mills of Kodambakam in Chennai, where most film studios were located at one time. Gemini was no gigolo but a Casanova. He was not a hypocrite and candidly admitted to these affairs saying his life was an open book. Some writers have compared him to  former Hollywood idol Gary Cooper in this respect. It was said of Gary Cooper that “they came to him with their platefuls of delicacies which he partook of.” His wife Bopji however stood by her philandering husband throughout life like the typical Indian loyal wife.

She and Gemini have four daughters. Three of them – Revathy, Kamala and Jeya – are medical doctors. A fourth, Narayani, was a senior editor of the “Times of India”. Gemini has two daughters by Pushpavalli. The elder is Rekha, the well-known Hindi film actress. The younger Radha also acted in a few Tamil films but then opted for marriage and migration to the USA. Savitri and Gemini have two children. The daughter Vijayasamundeeswari is a physiotherapist. She acted in films as a child artiste named ‘Baby Savitri’. Her son and grandson of  Gemini =Saviri  is Abhinay Vatti  who is an actor too. Gemini’s only son Satheesh Kumar a computer engineer is  living in the USA. He resembles his Father very much.

Despite the fickle love life, Gemini was a shrewd businessman and invested heavily in real estate and property development schemes. He was a good sportsman having captained the college cricket team. He also played tennis, golf and badminton. His other interests were swimming,  horse riding, ballroom dancing and reading.

Athletic and Extremely Fit
Gemini Ganesan was athletic and kept himself extremely fit. This helped him greatly in his career. He would do most of the action scenes himself and not depend on a stunt double.

An interesting incident occurred when the film ‘Missiamma’ was shot simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu. Gemini Ganesan in Tamil and N.T. Ramarao (NTR) in Telugu were the lead actors. There was a sequence in the film where the hero had to jump from a balcony. Gemini refused to let a stunt actor double for him and did the act himself. Funnily enough Gemini had to jump off the balcony again in place of NTR when the Telugu film scene was shot. It is said that as an undergrad Gemini always used to jump to the ground from his second floor dormitory instead of taking the stairs.

The last time I saw Gemini in the flesh was in 1978. He along with actress Rajshree participated as chief guests at a cultural event held at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo. I vividly remember Gemini effortlessly striding and leaping on to the stage without mounting the steps. Gemini Ganesan was 58 at that time.

The MGR-Sivaji-Gemini period at its best was the golden age of Tamil cinema. MGR died in 1987 and Sivaji  passed away in 2001. Gemini Ganesan, the last of that trio, breathed his last in 2005. The one-time heartthrob of Tamil cinema passed away peacefully in his sleep on 22 March at his residence in Nungambakkam, Chennai. Jayalalitha Jayaram who has acted opposite Gemini in some films was the Tamil Nadu State Chief Minister at that time. She remarked then that the death of Gemini Ganesan was “an end of an era in Tamil cinema”

“Kaadhal Mannan” (Romance King)
Many actors have romanced their heroines on screen in the past and no doubt will do so in the future too. The “Romance King” crown of Tamil cinema however belonged to Gemini Ganesan and all other aspirants to it are only pretenders to the throne. He was and will forever be the “Kaadhal Mannan” of Tamil cinema.  

D.B.S.Jeyaraj can be reached at 
[email protected]