Actor Prabhu, who was introduced by director C.V. Rajendran in the film Sangili in which his father Sivaji Ganesan played the lead, said with the death of the director, he felt like an orphan.
“I do not know what would have been my career if he had not offered me the role in the film, which was a remake of the Hindi film Kalicharan . What I am today is because of him,” Mr. Prabhu told The Hindu .
He said though late C.V. Sridhar was keen on introducing him in the film Oh Manju in the role of a teenager, his uncle Shanmugam shot it down as it would affect his studies. Later, Rajendran made him the second hero in the film Sangili . “People like C.V. Rajendran introduced youthfulness, style and fashion in Tamil cinema. He made a clear departure from the period before him in the Tamil film world. We used to request him to give a dance sequence to my father,” recalled Mr. Prabhu, who acted in eight films including Anand and Unga Veetu Pillai under Rajendran’s direction.
Mr. Prabhu said Rajendran was part of his family and a guide to him and his elder brother Ramkumar. “He even participated in the pooja of the film Neruppuda , starring my son Vikram Prabhu,” he said.
According to him, late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was very fond of Rajendran, who offered her a role opposite his father Sivaji Ganesan in Galatta Kalyanam . “She would call him almost every week,” he said, recalling the days he would visit the set to watch Jayalalithaa’s performance.
