MG Ramachandran

Bust of MG Ramachandran at his grave monument in Chennai

MG Ramachandran ( Marudur Gopalamenon Ramachandran ) (born January 17, 1917 in Kandy , Sri Lanka , † December 29, 1987 in Madras , Tamil Nadu ) was an Indian film actor and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He was the most influential star in Tamil film alongside Sivaji Ganesan and Gemini Ganesan . It is often referred to simply by the abbreviation MGR .

Live and act

Movie

His family moved to Tamil Nadu when he was a child and lived there in poverty. At the age of six Ramachandran was already active in a theater company. He had his first film appearance in 1936, but the breakthrough came with Rajakumari (1947). In the 1950s, Ramachandran appeared as a hero in many adventure films, including Madurai Veeran (1956). He worked as an actor in the Tamil film until the 1970s . His life was fictionally filmed by the Tamil director Mani Ratnam in the film Iruvar .

politics

MG Ramachandran had been involved in party politics since 1953 and sat in the Tamil parliament for his party, the “League for the Progress of the Dravida ” ( Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , DMK) in the 1960s . In 1972 he founded the Anna-DMK, which in 1977, later renamed under the name " All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , AIADMK", won the election in the state together with Indira Gandhi's congress party . MG Ramachandran became Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu . He also won the two subsequent elections and remained in office until his death. His leadership style was authoritarian and populist.

MG Ramachandran knew how to cultivate his popularity well and he was partly idolized. In 1987, 22 people committed suicide while Ramachandran was seriously ill, hoping to help him with their death. His funeral ceremony was attended by more than 2 million people. In Madras a temple was even built with him as a deity.

MG Ramachandran is the holder of the Bharat Ratna (awarded posthumously in 1988).

literature

• MSS Pandian: The Image Trap. MG Ramachandran in Film and Politics. New Delhi: Sage, 1992.
• Shrikanth Veeravalli: MGR. A biography. New Delhi: Rainlight, 2013.

Web links

Commons : MG Ramachandran  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• MG Ramachandran in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Biography and filmography (Engl.)
• MG Ramachandran @ SPICE

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Alex Rühle : Best of Masala. 100 years of Indian cinema . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung of May 11, 2013.