Veteran Kollywood actor Delhi Ganesh passes away

Actor Delhi Ganesh, known for acing both comic and serious roles, passed away at his Chennai residence due to age-related ailments. He was 80.

Ganesh was part of the generation of actors who successfully transitioned from the stage to the big screen. In fact, Ganesh was given the moniker of ‘Delhi’, after being part of the famous drama troupe, Dakshina Bharata Nataka Sabha, based out of Delhi. Having worked in the Indian Air Force for over a decade, he resigned from his job when his acting career started flourishing in the South. The veteran made his debut with K Balachander’s Pattina Pravesham (1976), and went on to become a mainstay in Tamil cinema for over 45 years, and was last seen on the big screen in Kamal Haasan-Shankar’s Indian 2.

Best known for his collaborations with K Balachander, Visu, and Kamal Haasan, Delhi Ganesh was a consummate performer, who was equally at ease in both comic and serious roles. He could be a drunkard father in one film, and a responsible one in his next. He could be a dreaded crime lord in one, and a bumbling office secretary in another. He could be a cook with an acerbic tongue in one, and a doctor with nefarious intentions in another. Basically, he was an actor who could be anything, and that is probably why some of the finest filmmakers from across the spectrum in Tamil cinema vouched for him. He was equally at ease in a K Balachander or Mani Ratnam film as he was in the sets of a Visu or a Suresh Krishna film. He fit into their vision, and had all the hallmarks of a thorough director’s actor. 

Ganesh’s longevity in films can be attributed to his understanding of the importance of supporting acts in a film. He knew cinema isn’t just made up of the stars and the superstars. That is why his career, which started off with a film featuring fellow rank newcomers, went on to feature him in starring roles alongside every star of his generation, the next generation, and then, the next. Be it Sivaji Ganesan, KR Vijaya, Sivakumar, Rajinikanth, and Kamal Haasan or Vijayakanth, Karthik, Mohan, Mammootty and Prabhu, or Murali, Arjun, Sarathkumar, Prashanth,Mohanlal and Sathyaraj, or Vijay, Ajith Kumar, Madhavan, Suriya, Vikram, and Prabhudeva, and upto the likes of Nakkhul, Shiva, Raghava Lawrence, Sivakarthikeyan, Karthi, Arya, and Vishal, Delhi Ganesh was everywhere. It wasn’t like he starred in blink-and-miss roles. They were mostly author-backed that needed a thespian to ace it, and almost every filmmaker knew whom to call.

It wasn’t just his cinematic exploits that made Delhi Ganesh a household name. He was one of the earliest ‘cinema’ actors to become ‘television’ actors, and his presence in serials like Ragasiyam, Sorna Regai, Veetuku Veedu Looty, and Kasthuri helped him make an indelible mark in the Tamil consciousness. 

Known for his affability that made him equally at ease with veterans and young filmmakers, Delhi Ganesh even made a mark in the digital space. He was an hilarious addition to the sketch comedy YouTube channel, Put Chutney, which featured him in the role of a Tamil-ised Alfred Pennyworth. In his final web series, Navarasa, he played a jealous patriarch of a household in the Vasanth-directed short, Payasam, which brought out a different facet to his performance in his 45th year as an actor.

One of the most secure actors of his generation, there was no role ‘too small’ for Delhi Ganesh, who imbibed Konstantin Stanislavski’s famous statement, “there are no small parts, only small actors.” And as the industry mourns the loss of such a powerhouse,  let’s take a step back and remind ourselves that art might have the power to transcend generations, but it takes a special kind of talent to take it there. Delhi Ganesh had it, and that’s why he will be forever remembered as an actor who could do anything, and did everything.

Source: The Indian Express
--Agencies