Ganesan made his acting debut in the 1952 Tamil film Parasakthi, which was directed by the Krishnan–Panju duo and co-starred actress Pandari Bai. The male lead cast of Parasakthi, left to right: SV Sahasranamam, Sivaji Ganesan and SS Rajendran Since then, he was referred to by the name of "Sivaji". His portrayal of Shivaji in the stage play Shivaji Kanda Hindu Rajyam earned him the monicker "Sivaji", which was conferred on him at a public function presided over by social reformer Periyar. The group favoured Ganesan to play the lead and he would continue to do so. Ganesan exhibited the ability to remember lengthy lines easily. He was trained in Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Manipuri dance forms. From the drama troupe trainers, he was fortunate enough to learn acting and dancing. At the age of 10, he moved to Tiruchirappalli and joined a drama troupe in Sangiliyandapuram and began to perform in stage plays. Without his father's consent, Ganesan decided to join a touring stage drama company at the age of seven. Media outlets said that the initial 'V' stood for Villupuram, though one of Ganesan's sons stated that it stands for Vettaithidal, a village from which their family originates. Early in his career, Ganesan acted under the name V.
Ganesan was born on 1 October 1928, as the fourth son of Chinnaiya Manrayar and Rajamani Ammal in Villupuram, India. Upon his death, The Los Angeles Times described him as "the Marlon Brando of south India's film industry". Ganesan is remembered as an iconic figure of Tamil cinema. He was also the first Indian actor to be made a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 1997, Ganesan was conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest honour for films in India. In addition, he received four Filmfare Awards South and a National Film Award (Special Jury). Many leading South Indian actors have stated that their acting was influenced by Ganesan. Ganesan was the first Indian actor to win a "Best Actor" award in an International film festival, the Afro-Asian Film Festival held in Cairo, Egypt in 1960. In a career that spanned close to five decades, he had acted 288 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi.
He was known for his versatility and the variety of roles he depicted on screen, which gave him also the Tamil nickname Nadigar Thilagam ( transl. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer.