The man who knew a 98-page script by heart

No one knows Villupuram Chiniahpillai Ganesan. 'Sivaji', though, is a name that resonates throughout Tamil Nadu.

Ganesan was given the name 'Sivaji' by Periyar E V Ramaswamy Naicker, founder of the Dravida movement, way back in 1946, for his portrayal of the Maratha warrior-king in a stage play titled Sivaji Kanda Indu Saamraajyam (The Hindu Kingdom That Sivaji Saw).

Funnily enough, Ganesan was not even supposed to be playing that role. At the time, he had just graduated from playing female roles, to doing small male characters.

A day before the play was due to debut on stage, however, the actor slated to play the central character fell ill. A replacement was required -- and Ganesan was the only one who knew the role by heart.

In fact, it turned out that Ganesan had the whole 98-page script by heart -- a trait that has, throughout his 48 year career, characterised the man.

"Sivaji never believed in only knowing his role," recalls comedian turned character artiste Nagesh. "He always said, 'My lines are not independent, they act on, and react with, the lines others say. So if I don't know your lines, my own responses won't be up to the mark'.

"And he insisted that in every film he worked in, he had to get the full script, which he would then learn by heart -- and if it so happened that I muffed my lines during a take, he would prompt me even before the assistant director could find the place in the bound script."

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A Tribute to the Legend Sivaji Ganesan