Chennai: The Tamil film fraternity was in full attendance on Sunday to pay rich tributes to legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan on his 89th birth anniversary as Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam threw open a sprawling memorial for the thespian in the heart of the state capital.
The memorial, built at a cost of Rs 2.80 crore on the banks of Adyar, was initially scheduled to be unveiled by Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar. But Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami deputed his deputy Panneerselvam to do the honours after the thespian’s family requested him to throw open the memorial, conceived by late J Jayalalithaa.
A bronze statue of late Sivaji Ganesan, which was removed from the Marina Beach, has also been installed at the memorial. Actors Rajinikanth, Kamal Hassan, Nasser, Vishal, Sarath Kumar, Satyaraj, Surya, Suhashini, Sachu and family members of the late actor – Prabhu and Ramkumar – were some of the stars who took part in the glittering ceremony.
Speaking at the ceremony, Rajinikanth thanked late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for the memorial and DMK chief M Karunanidhi for the installation of Sivaji’s statue on the Marina Beach.
“Panneerselvam is very fortunate (to have inaugurated the statue), it has been proved many times,” he said. Kamal also took a subtle dig at the state government for the controversy surrounding Sunday’s events saying any government has to respect “this great artiste and they will respect him. “No need to compel or plead with anyone...It will happen by itself,” he said.
The 28,300 square foot memorial was built by the Public Works Department after Jayalalithaa announced in the Assembly in 2015 that a memorial would be built honouring Sivaji Ganesan, who dominated the Tamil film world since the 1950s.
Throwing open the memorial, Panneerselvam recalled efforts made by Jayalalithaa to build the memorial and effused praise on Sivaji Ganesan. He also said the demands of the film fraternity will be met by the Tamil Nadu Government.
“Sivaji Ganesan and MGR are great examples of how one’s love for their mother can bring success in their lives. They worshipped their respective mothers and that was one of the reasons for their success,” Panneerselvam said.
Stalin condemns removal of MK’s name from plaque
DMK working president M. K. Stalin has alleged that a plaque at the statue of thespian 'Sivaji' Ganesan, having the name of his father and former CM M. Karunanidhi, has been removed. “The removal of inscription is a
mean-minded act of the present government. By such activities, the relationship between Karunanidhi and Sivaji Ganesan cannot be erased and the Tamil film industry will not forgive this act,” he said and condemned the removal of plaque which contains Mr. Karunanidhi's name.
The statue was originally unveiled by the DMK president near Marina beach when he was the CM. It was removed recently following a high court order and shifted to the Ganesan’s memorial at Adyar.
