Initial years From the casting department, Ganesan made his film debut in 1947 with the satire
Miss Malini, in a minor role. The film, which was based on a story by
R. K. Narayan, and cast him alongside his future Mistress
Pushpavalli, was a box office failure as it was considered "ahead of its time", but was well received by intellectuals. No
print of that film is known to survive, making it a
lost film. This was followed by
Chakradhari, in which he played another minor role as the
Hindu god
Krishna. The film was a box office success, but his performance went unnoticed. It was not until 1953 when he played a negative role in
Thai Ullam, did people take notice of him as an actor. The next year, he appeared in a supporting role in the Gemini Studios film
Moondru Pillaigal, which was unsuccessful. He was then cast as a hero for the first time with
Manam Pola Mangalyam. The film, which featured him in a
dual role, paired him with his future wife
Savitri, and became a "milestone in his life". It was also nominated for the National Film Award in 1960, along with Gemini Ganesan's
Kalyana Parisu, but both lost to
Bhaaga Pirivinai. The
Ruritanian romance film
Vanjikottai Valiban (1958) was a high-budget film and became a large commercial success due to much hype. The
historical fiction film
Parthiban Kanavu (1960) won the
President's silver medal for Best Feature Film, but failed commercially. In 1958 was booked by
M. G. Ramachandran for his second directorial venture
Ponniyin Selvan. One of the first screen adaptations of
Kalki Krishnamurthy's
Ponniyin Selvan, the film had a huge
ensemble cast consisting of
Vyjayanthimala,
Savitri,
Padmini,
Saroja Devi,
M. N. Rajam and
Nagesh,
M.N. Nambiar. In the film, he was given the role of
Arulmozhivarman. He co-starred with rival actor
M. G. Ramachandran in
Mugarasi (1966), which was their only film together. Ganesan produced
Naan Avan Illai (1974), in which he played a womaniser. Directed by
K. Balachander, this film won critical praise for Ganesan's performance, but according to Ganesan, the film did not succeed commercially.
Missiammas remake
Miss Mary (1957), which became one of the biggest Indian hits of that year. He later appeared in a guest role in
Nazrana (1961), the Hindi remake of his own
Kalyana Parisu. Though the film was an average grosser, it was the 12th highest-grossing film of the year.
Later years Later in his career, Ganesan switched to
character roles, most notably the Telugu film
Rudraveena (1988), its Tamil remake
Unnal Mudiyum Thambi (1988), and
Avvai Shanmughi (1996), in which he played the role of an old man longing for the titular main character unaware of her actual gender. Near the end of his acting career, he chose to act mainly in television serials, most notably
Krishnadasi. Ganesan also appeared in
Mettukudi (1996),
Kaalamellam Kadhal Vaazhga (1997),
Thodarum (1998), and his last major role came the same year with
Naam Iruvar Namakku Iruvar, followed by special appearances in
Gemini (2002) and
Adi Thadi (2004).
Other work Unlike Sivaji Ganesan and M. G. Ramachandran, Gemini Ganesan was not originally a theatre actor, thus making his acting "refreshingly credible". ==Acclaim and criticism==