Everyone loved him, especially the women, and he was Tamil cinema’s King of Romance. A legend in his lifetime, Gemini Ganesan (born Ganapati Subramanian Sarma) was known as much for his love life in real life as on screen. He had more than one family and eight children, but that was not uncommon in those days. After all, his contemporary MR Radha always said he was never sure how many children he had sired.
At his peak he was one of Tamil cinema’s highest paid stars, eclipsed perhaps only by Sivaji Ganesan and MGR. Eternal Romantic: My Father, Gemini Ganesan is the story of the man as told by his daughter Narayani Ganesh. She remembers him as a man with a big heart who, despite all the pressures in his life, found time for his children and enveloped all those who passed through his life with love.
In his foreword, the legendary Kamal Haasan who made his film debut as a child actor in a Gemini-starrer recalls his experience working on Kalathur Kannamma: “I’m told I had to be ‘weaned’ away from my screen parents. I was forced to call Gemini ‘mama’ or uncle. I was disappointed when they (Gemini and Savithri) had their first child — wasn’t I their child?”
The actor goes on to reveal that it was he who brought Gemini’s most famous daughter Rekha, to his home for the first time. “Rekha said to me that she would like to meet her father... When we reached we received a warm welcome and Rekha was taken on a guided tour of the house by the children: they were talking all at once and Gemini mama was seated in their midst,” he writes.
Structured more as a fond tribute, the book traces Gemini’s life from ancestral home to college (he taught at Madras Christian College briefly), marriage, his film career and relationships.
Throughout, Narayani refers to her father as “Appa” and peppers the narrative with anecdotes, photos from her father’s private collection (we catch glimpses of Rekha with her equally stunning sister Radha), entries from his personal diaries and letters written to his children (“Study well, play well and eat well. If you want anything tell Mother,” reads one written to Narayani’s half-sister Vijaya).
Some of the less known aspects of the Kadhal Mannan’s (King of Romance) turned out to be a passion for sports, dogs and more importantly for cooking! Narayani tosses in one of his recipes for good measure.
As one reaches the epilogue, one has skimmed through a life lived fully, with much love, passion and vigour. Eternal Romantic may not be the most critical look at Gemini Ganesan’s life, but in capturing the larger than life essence of a much-loved star, it quite succeeds.