MG Ramachandran’s 108th birth anniversary

108 years ago today, MG Ramachandran was born in Kandy, Sri Lanka. He was only two and a half when his father died and his sister died shortly thereafter. MGR’s mother struggled to raise her two sons, Ramachandran and Chakapani, as she received no help from her relatives. The generous donation of Kumbakonam resident, Velu Nair, enabled her to enrol both her sons at school.

The two boys soon developed a love for acting and soon joined the Boys Company Acting Troupe. MGR had a brief stint of acting when he went back to Sri Lanka but returned to India in pursuit of becoming a screen actor.

After acting in various stage plays, he was introduced to the screen by American director Ellis R Dungan in the 1936 film, Sathi Leelavathy. It was a slow climb for MG Ramachandran who eventually got recognition for his 1950 film, Manthiri Kumarie, which was written by M. Karunanidhi and directed by Ellis R Dungan. Working on this film brought MGR and Karunanidhi closer together. This friendship would see MGR change from a theist Congress supporter with Gandhian ideals, to the atheistic far left ideologies of the DMK. It was a leaning that would remain largely with him until his death.

Carefully choosing his roles, MGR ensured that he maintained a positive screen image. By the time he decided to make his debut as a producer and director in the 1958 film Nadodi Manann, MGR had already developed a game plan of how he was going to use cinema to gain popularity for his political aspirations. This intensified in the 1960s and this led to his entry into active politics.

His popularity on screen and how it helped his political career saw him being seen as a threat by his former close friend and ally, M Karunanidhi. When MGR was kicked out of the DMK, many thought that that was the end of the road for his political and acting career, but he bounced back by starting his own political party and launching what was at that time one of India’s most ambitious film adventures, the 1970 film Ulagam Sutrum Vaaliban which was only released in 1973 – a tale good enough enough to be turned into a movie and one which Sigaram would soon explore.

AS a politician, MGR had a chequered career, but what was undeniable was the love and adulation from his fans. Many of his political policies were pro-poor and reflected a genuine love for people, but he also had the reputation of not tolerating detractors. Actors like Nagesh and JP Chandrababu would have gone much further in their careers had they not gotten onto his bad side. His much-publicised relationship with actress and (later) Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha, will remain a much talked about and much debated one.

Despite these human flaws, MGR remains one of the most loved actors and one of the most revered politicians.

MG Ramachandran passed away on 24 December 1987 after a prolonged illness, and his death at that time made international news.

Songs picturised on MGR required his personal approval – and this gave us some of the best loved songs of Tamil cinema. Enjoy more than 3 hours of his songs in our MGR birth anniversary special.