M. G. Ramachandran

Ramachandran was born on 17 January 1917 in Nawalapitiya, Kandy District, British Ceylon (now in Sri Lanka) in a Malayali Nair family to Melakkath Gopalan Menon and Maruthur Satyabhama. His family hailed from Palakkad region in the modern-day Indian state of Kerala. His father worked as a magistrate in Kandy, and moved back to India with his family after retirement. He was the youngest of the two sons, and his elder brother was Chakrapani. Ramachandran's father died when he was two and a half years old. Soon after the death of his father, his sister also died due to ill health. After his father's death, their relatives did not support the family, and his mother moved to her brother's house in Kumbakonam. His mother worked as a housemaid to put both her sons through school.

During his school days, Ramachandran joined a drama troupe called Boys Company. He trained himself in various aspects, and took on different roles. With help from Kandasamy Mudaliar, he had a brief acting stint overseas in Rangoon and Singapore, where he took up female roles. He returned to India to rejoin Boys Company, and started playing lead roles.

Ramachandran made his film debut in 1936, in the film Sathi Leelavathi, directed by Ellis R. Dungan, an American-born film director. He followed it with minor appearances and supporting roles in many films. During his early film career, Ramachandran was addressed by his co-stars as "Chinnavar" (the younger one) to distinguish him from his elder brother, Chakrapani, who also worked in the film industry. He worked for over a decade in various films before he played his first lead role in Rajakumari, which was commercially successful. Ramachandran later delivered various hit films such as Manthiri Kumari and Maruthanad Elavarasee in 1950. He established himself as an action hero in Tamil cinema with Manthiri Kumari (1950) and Marmayogi (1951). His popularity rose with the success of En Thangai (1952) and Malaikkallan (1954).

Ramachandran's 1955 film Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum was the Tamil film industry's first-ever full-length gevacolor film. He acted further in commercially successful films such as Madurai Veeran (1956), Chakravarthi Thirumagal and Mahadevi (both released in 1957). He also directed few films, and his first film as a director and producer was Nadodi Mannan (1958), which became a blockbuster. He later starred in Kalai Arasi (1963), which featured a storyline of aliens visiting the earth. The following year, he appeared in Thozhilali and Padagotti. After starring in numerous commercially successful films, he held a matinée idol status in Tamil Nadu. In 1960, MGR declined the Padma Shri honour, stating that he could not accept an invitation written in the Devanagari script, consistent with his adherence to Dravidian ideology and advocacy of the Tamil language.

Ramachandran was shot in 1967, which permanently changed his voice. His first film to release after his release from the hospital was Arasakattalai, which had been finished earlier. However, he was shooting for the film Kaavalkaaran, when he was shot, and the film had parts featuring his old and new voices across scenes.

Ramachandran won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor for the film Kudiyirundha Koyil in 1968 and the National Film Award for Best Actor for Rickshawkaran in 1972. His 1973 film Ulagam Sutrum Valiban was one of the first Tamil films to be filmed abroad, and broke the previous box office records of his films. He later acted in successful films like Netru Indru Naalai (1974), Idhayakkani (1975), and Indru Pol Endrum Vaazhga (1977). His acting career ended in 1978 with his last film being Madhuraiyai Meetta Sundharapandiyan.

Ramachandran remarked there was no question of retirement for anyone associated in whichever capacity with the cine field. Kali N. Rathnam, a pioneer of Tamil stage drama, and K. P. Kesavan were mentors of Ramachandran in his acting career. Ramachandran was often paired with actresses B. Saroja Devi, and J. Jayalalithaa. Jayalalithaa, who later followed him into politics, acted with him in 28 films, with the last film being Pattikaattu Ponnaiya in 1973.

In 1939, Ramachandran married Chitarikulam Bhargavi alias Thangamani,who later died in 1942 due to an illness. In late 1942, he married Sadanandavati, who died later due to tuberculosis in 1962. In 1962, same year after his second wife death he married actress V. N. Janaki, who later became the chief minister of Tamil Nadu after his death. He had no biological children from any of his marriages.

In his early days, Ramachandran was a devout Hindu and a devotee of Murugan and his mother's favourite god, Guruvayurappan. After joining the DMK, he identified himself as a rationalist. He gifted a golden sword weighing half a Kilogram to Mookambika temple in Kollur, Udupi district.

Ramachandran was the founder and editor of Thai weekly magazine and Anna daily newspaper in Tamil. He established Sathya Studios and Emgeeyar Pictures. He offered personal financial donations during disasters and calamities, and donated Rs. 75,000 to the war fund during the Sino-Indian War.

Ramachandran was a member of the Indian National Congress till 1953. In 1953, he joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), founded by C. N. Annadurai, and became a prominent member of the party. He became a member of the Madras State Legislative Council in 1962.

1967 assassination attempt

On 12 January 1967, M. R. Radha, an actor who had appeared in several films alongside Ramachandran, visited him to discuss a future film. During the conversation, Radha stood up, shot Ramachandran near his left ear, and then attempted to shoot himself. The bullet was lodged behind the first vertebra, and Ramachandran underwent a surgery to remove the bullet. However, a piece of the bullet was left behind as the doctors were apprehensive that it would cause further damage if attempted to be removed.

As a consequence of the surgery, he lost hearing in his left ear and his voice was altered permanently. The bullet piece left behind got dislodged later, and was removed safely. He was hospitalised for six weeks and was visited by commoners and people from the film industry, polity and bureaucracy. He conducted his campaign for the 1967 assembly elections from the hospital bed, and was elected to the legislative assembly for the first time. Radha was later sentenced to five years in prison for the incident, and died in 1979.