Born as Ganapathi Subramaniya Sarma, Ramaswamy Ganesan – known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan was titled as the King of Romance in Tamil Cinema. In a successful career in Cinema spanning over five decades, though he did not win any National awards, Gemini Ganesan has to his credit more than 200 films – primarily in Tamil and a few in Hindi, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam. Though his personal life was a subject of criticism, he has been recognized as one of the most talented actors in Indian Cinema and also one of the very few actors who were graduates at that point of time. As we celebrate his birth anniversary today, we bring out a few cherishable facets of Gemini Ganesan by taking you back to the Black and White era.

• King of romance: Fondly known as ‘Kadhal Mannan’ it is no surprise that Gemini Ganesan was called the King of Romance during his period considering the kind of films and roles done by him. Songs like ‘Kalangalil Aval Vasantham’ are still remembered as top romantic hits of Gemini Ganesan which were well supported by PB Srinivas’s voice. Movies like Naan Avan Illai, Vanjikottai Vaaliban, Kalyana Parisu serve as proof for his unmatchable flair for acting as a romantic figure.

• Star life: Gemini Ganesan debuted as an actor with the social satire film Miss Malini, in the year 1947 and this saw him in an insignificant role. He was not noticed as a skillful actor until his portrayal as a villain in the film Thai Ullam in 1953 and his first break as a lead actor was in the film Manampol Mangalyam with Savitri which became a huge path-breaker for his film career. Ganesan made his Bollywood debut with the film Miss Mary in 1957. He acted in a very few Hindi movies, most of them being remakes of his own movies. He also did many character roles after becoming old.

• The firsts and milestones: Gemini Ganesan had the opportunity to create or be associated with a lot of firsts in the Tamil film industry, which is not surprising considering that his career spanned over five decades. His film Thaen Nilavu was the first Tamil film to be shot in Jammu and Kashmir. Konjum Salangai was the first movie to have been released in Poland, in a dubbed version. It is also to be praised that this film had subtitles in 22 languages during the era where technology was still at its infant stage. A Padmashri recipient in 1971, Ganesan has also many awards like Kalaimamani, MGR Gold Medal and Screen Life Time Achievement Award to his credit.

•Personal life: A graduate from the Madras Christian College, Gemini Ganesan’s ambition was to become a doctor. When he married his wife Alamelu at the age of 19, his would-be father-in-law promised to get him a medical seat after his graduation. He agreed to this marriage but his dreams were broken as soon as his father-in-law died within one month of Ganesan’s marriage. To get a job immediately, Ganesan flew to Delhi after he got a call from the Indian Air Force. Later, following the advice of his uncle, he became a teacher and worked as a lecturer in the department of Chemistry at MCC. He later worked for Gemini Studios as an executive where he was offered an acting chance by the studio casting team itself and hence the prefix Gemini was added to his name. Gemini Ganesan also had a profound love and passion for poetry. Needless to say, he was a learned man and had an in-depth interest and appreciation for poetry, as told by his daughter Rekha in an interview.

•Multi-faceted dimensions of his life: Not just a refined actor and a scholar, Gemini Ganesan was an expert in yoga too. He had also formally studied the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and Vedas. As mentioned, he was an academician and also had the opportunity to work in a corporate company like Gemini Studios. So many activities and interests, one name – Gemini Ganesan! He left the world on March 22, 2005, leaving behind a huge vacuum in the lives of people and in the industry as his place as an actor is definitely irreplaceable.