Tamil
cinema's
epitome
of
acting,
Nadigar
Thilagam
Sivaji
Ganesan
was
loved
and
respected
by
the
entire
industry
and
he
had
two
hardcore
fanatics
who
were
his
staunch
admirers
within
the
industry
in
the
form
of
Superstar
Rajinikanth
and
Ulaga
Nayagan
Kamal
Haasan.
Both
Rajini
and
Kamal
had
held
Sivaji
in
the
highest
regard
and
were
said
to
have
treated
the
legendary
actor
as
their
Godfather.
The
present
generation
legends
too
were
seen
as
the
family
by
the
yesteryear
legend
and
the
former
have
had
their
own
share
of
interesting
incidents
separately
with
the
latter.
The
year
1992
witnessed
one
of
the
all-time
classics
of
Tamil
cinema,
Thevar
Magan.
The
movie
boasted
of
the
proudest
Tamil
actors,
Sivaji
Ganesan
and
Kamal
Haasan
together
on-screen.
The
on-screen
competition
they
posed
to
each
other
in
terms
of
acting
was
phenomenal
and
Sivaji
played
the
role
of
a
village
chieftain.
Naturally,
the
king
needs
to
sit
on
a
majestic
throne
and
Kamal
Haasan,
the
producer
of
the
movie
had
got
a
custom
made
chair
built
for
the
character
of
a
village
chieftain.
Sivaji,
who
was
said
to
be
impressed
with
the
chair
heaped
praises
on
Kamal
Haasan
for
its
build
and
design.
However,
post
the
completion
of
movie
and
screening
of
the
premiere
show,
the
thespian
actor
was
said
to
have
cursed
Kamal
on
a
lighter
note,
as
the
former
noticed
that
the
character
played
by
him
dies
during
the
pre-interval
block
and
that
it
was
Kamal
Haasan
who
occupies
the
custom
made
throne
from
the
second
half.
Sivaji
exclaimed
that
he
was
under
the
assumption
that
the
chair
was
designed
especially
out
of
love
and
affection
Kamal
had
on
him
but
later
turned
out
to
be
the
affection
which
the
latter
had
on
himself.
The
duo
was
said
to
have
a
good
laughter
over
the
incident.
Cut
the
scene
and
enter
1999,
it
was
time
to
witness
a
class
and
mass
combo
which
resulted
in
an
industry
hit,
Padayappa.
Rajini
shared
screen
space
with
Sivaji
Ganesan
after
a
long
time
and
this
was
the
last
movie
of
the
Chevalier
award-winning
actor.
KS
Ravikumar,
the
director
of
the
movie,
was
a
frequent
smoker
back
then
but
lacked
the
courage
to
smoke
on
sets
in
the
presence
of
the
highly
disciplined
actor,
Sivaji
Ayya
(as
he
was
fondly
called
in
the
industry
circles).
This
prompted
Ravikumar
to
sneak
into
a
dark
room
in
the
production
unit
for
a
quick
fag
and
he
had
to
escape
from
the
eyes
of
the
senior
actor.
Though
the
director
successfully
managed
to
stealthily
enter
a
dark
room,
he
was
taken
by
surprise
when
he
spotted
another
person
smoking
a
cigarette
in
the
same
room.
To
his
astonishment,
it
was
none
other
than
Superstar
Rajinikanth.
Superstar,
upon
noticing
Ravikumar
exclaimed,
"Ayya
irukaar
illa,
veliye
eppdidi
dhum
adikirthu"
(Got
in
here
as
I
cannot
gather
the
courage
to
smoke
in
front
of
Ayya).
Ravikumar
then
lit
his
cigarette
peacefully
when
he
had
Thalaiva
himself
as
a
companion.
These
two
incidents
showcase
the
love,
affection
and
admiration
the
trio
shared
through
the
lifetime.