Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday accorded state honours to legendary actor ‘Nadigar Thilagam’ Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan on his 99th birth anniversary. Legislative Assembly Speaker J C D Prabhakar, along with Minister for Food and Civil Supplies P Venkataramanan, School Education, Tamil Development, Information and Publicity Minister A Rajmohan and Social Justice Minister Vanni Arasu, garlanded the late actor’s statue and offered floral tributes to his portrait at the Sivaji Ganesan Mani Mandapam in Adyar, Chennai.
The event was attended by Sivaji Ganesan’s sons, actors Ramkumar and Prabhu, besides family members, film personalities and senior government officials.
After paying tributes, Minister Rajmohan addressed the media.
“Greetings to all. Today, on the birth anniversary of ‘Nadigar Thilagam’ Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan sir, we are offering state honours and floral tributes on behalf of the Honourable Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, brother C Joseph Vijay,” Rajmohan said.
Separately, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee commemorated the actor’s 99th birth anniversary by organising elocution competitions for school and college students across the state.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the TNCC event, TNCC president Manickam Tagore said district Congress committees, along with members of Sivaji Ganesan fan clubs, had conducted speech competitions across 69 party districts over the past 15 days.
Higher Education Minister Viswanathan inaugurated the final round of the competition.
Tagore said the student securing the first prize would receive Rs 1,00,000, while the second, third and fourth prize winners would receive Rs 60,000, Rs 40,000 and Rs 20,000, respectively.
Born V C Ganesan on October 1, 1928, he went on to become one of Indian cinema’s most celebrated actors, known for his powerful performances, distinctive voice and remarkable command of the craft.
In 1997, he was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the country’s highest award for cinema. He was also the first Indian actor to be conferred the title of Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France.
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