Career
From the casting department, Ganesan made his film debut in 1947 with the social satire film Miss Malini, in a minor role. The film, which was based on the story Mr. Sampath by R. K. Narayan and cast him alongside his future wife Pushpavalli, was a box office failure as it was considered "ahead of its time", but was well received by intellectuals. Currently, no print of that film exists, making it a lost film. This was followed by Chakradhari, in which he played another minor role as Lord Krishna. The film was a box-office success, but his performance went unnoticed. It was not until 1953, when he played a villainous role in the film Thai Ullam opposite R. S. Manohar, did people take notice of him as an actor. The next year, he appeared in a supporting role in the Gemini Studios production Moondru Pillaigal, which was unsuccessful. He was then cast as a hero for the first time with Manampol Mangalyam. The film, which featured him in a dual role, paired him with his future wife Savitri, and became a "milestone in his life". From then on, he carved out a niche for himself in Tamil cinema with films that required a lot of romance but little action.
In his career spanning nearly 50 years, Ganesan played a variety of roles, from Abhimanyu in Maya Bazaar (1957) to freedom fighter Madasamy in Kappalotiya Thamizhan (1961), and in Pennin Perumai (1960), he played a non-assertive imbecile morphing into a well-moulded human being. Ganesan also starred in Kalathur Kannamma (1959), which was also the debut for Kamal Haasan, who would later become one of the leading actors in Tamil cinema. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil – Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Feature Film in 1961. Ganesan also starred in Veerapandiya Kattabomman (1959) alongside Sivaji Ganesan. The film was selected for the Afro-Asian Film Festival in 1960. It was also nominated for the National Film Award in 1960, along with Gemini Ganesan's Kalyana Parisu, but both lost to Bhaaga Pirivinai. The ruritanian romance film Vanjikottai Valiban (1958) was a high budget film and became a huge commercial success due to much hype. The historical fiction film Parthiban Kanavu (1960) won the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film, but failed commercially.
His 1961 film Then Nilavu was the first Tamil film to be shot extensively in Jammu and Kashmir, and became a great success at the box office. He co-starred with rival actor M. G. Ramachandran in Muharasi (1966), which was their only film together. Konjum Salangai (1962), which featured Ganesan alongside Savithri was released in various countries outside India, having subtitles in over 22 languages, and it was also the first Tamil film to be released in Poland in a dubbed version. Ganesan's best performance is considered to be in his home production, Naan Avan Illai (1974) in which he played many roles as seducer of women. Directed by K. Balachandar, this film won high critical praise for Ganesan's performance but according to Ganesan, the film did not succeed commercially.Some of his other best works include Missiamma, a remake of the same-titled Telugu film, the multi-lingual School Master, Kanavane Kan Kanda Deivam, Meenda Sorgam, Shanti Nilayam, Vaazhkai Padagu, Katpaham, Ramu, Thamarai Nenjam, and Punnagai. Ganesan had paired with several leading actresses like Anjali Devi, Pushpavalli, Padmini, Vyjayanthimala, Savithri, Devika, Vijayakumari, Saroja Devi, Rajasree, Kanchana, Jayanthi, K. R. Vijaya and Jayalalithaa.
Gemini Ganesan acted in a few Hindi films, though without much success. Notably, he played the lead role in Devta, which was the Hindi version of his own Tamil film Kanavaney Kankanda Deivam. He also acted in Raj Tilak (1958), which was the Hindi remake of his own Vanjikottai Valiban. The film was a box office failure, and collapsed within a week of release. He later did a guest role in Nazrana (1961), the Hindi remake of his own Kalyana Parisu, that had him in the lead. Though the film was an average grosser, it was the 12th highest-grossing film of the year.
Later in his career, he switched to little different character roles. Notable among these was the Telugu film Rudraveena (remade in Tamil as Unnal Mudiyum Thambi), considered one of his best films in Telugu. Another notable film was Avvai Shanmughi (1996), in which he characteristically played the role of an old man longing for an old maid, portrayed by Kamal Haasan. Towards the end of his acting career he kept himself busy with elegant roles in television serials, one notable serial was Krishnadasi. Ganesan also appeared in Mettukudi (1996), Kaalamellam Kadhal Vaazhga (1997), Thodarum (1998), and his acting career ended the same year with Naam Iruvar Namakku Iruvar, followed by a special appearance in Gemini (2002).
Unlike the other two leading Tamil actors of that time – Sivaji Ganesan and M. G. Ramachandran, Gemini Ganesan did not come from a stage background. This made his screen presence refreshingly credible and his acting was not stylised. He sustained his film career without the support of any fan club or backing of a political party. He stayed away from politics, even declining a Rajya Sabha MP offer by Rajiv Gandhi. The only time he got anywhere near politics was, when he organised a function for poet Subramania Bharathi at Ettayapuram in 1963. Apart from acting, Ganesan was also a shrewd businessman and invested heavily in real estate and property development. He was a good sportsman, having captained his College Cricket team and was successful in various sports like Tennis, Golf, and Badminton. Ganesan also worked as director for the film Idhaya Malar (1976), that starred Kamal Haasan and Y. G. Mahendran.
Filmography:
1947 Miss Malini
1952 Thai Ullam
1953 Manampol Mangalyam
1956 Pennin Perumai
1957 Mayabazar
1957 Miss Mary
1958 Vanjikottai Valiban
1958 Raj Tilak
1959 Veerapandiya Kattabomman
1959 Kalyana Parisu
1960 Kalathur Kannamma
1960 Parthiban Kanavu
1961 Kappalottiya Thamizhan
1961 Pasamalar
1961 Then Nilavu
1970 Kaviya Thalaivi
1973 Jesus Malayalam
1974 Naan Avan Illai
1988 Rudraveena
1996 Avvai Shanmugi