MG Ramachandran Birth Anniversary: Here Are 5 Lesser-Known Facts of a Charismatic Actor-Turned-Politician

Maruthur Gopala Menon Ramachandran aka MG Ramachandran, but widely called as MGR, was born on January 17, 1917. He was born in Kandy, Ceylon to Melakkath Gopalan Menon and Maruthur Satyabhama. Before stepping into the world of politics, MGR made his debut in the acting industry. He underwent rigorous training sessions to shape his career. In fact during his young age, MGR along with his brother became members of a drama troupe to support their family. MG Ramachandran has acted in various genres in his acting career, and is regarded as one of the most influential actors of Tamil cinema. On his birth anniversary, let’s take a look at some of the lesser-known facts of this charismatic actor-turned-politician. Kaifi Azmi 101st Birth Anniversary: 5 Beautiful Bollywood Songs Written By the Late Iconic Poet That Are Irreplaceable.

A Start To Acting – MGR started to act when he was in his school, and also joined the Boys Company drama troupe. This troupe conducted programs in singing, dancing, sword fighting, diction, and many others areas.

Debut – One of the most loved actors of Tamil cinema, MGR made his debut in 1936 with Sathi Leelavathi that was directed by an American-born film director, Ellis R Dungan. But he got a major break in 1950 with the film Manthiri Kumari that written by M Karunanidhi. And with Malaikkallan, released in 1954, he shot to fame.

Heartthrob of Kollywood – The 1955 film Gevacolor was Kollywood’s first ever full length feature film and MGR was featured as the hero. His performance in films such as Thirudadhe, Enga Veettu Pillai, Aayirathil Oruvan, Anbe Vaa, and many others made him the heartthrob of Kollywood. He also won the National Film Award for Best Actor for Rickshawkaran that released in 1972. For almost three decades he ruled in the Tamil film industry.

Political Career – MGR was a member of the Congress until 1953 and in the same year he joined DMK. It was at the age of 50 he was first elected to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. MGR who was known as Makkal Thilagam (People’s King), served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for a decade, between 1977 and 1987.

Assassination Attempt – On January 12, 1967, MR Radha along with a producer visited MGR at his residence to discuss about future projects. While interacting with MGR, Radha got up from his chair and shot the former twice in his left ear that got lodged in his neck. After shooting MGR, Radha also tried to shoot himself.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 17, 2020 09:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).