Potpourri of titbits about Tamil cinema

Gemini Ganesh used to tell me that in those days of his career, none of the leading heroes brought any of their family members to the shooting spot and if by any chance they took their family with them, the artistes would meet all the expenditure for them and wouldn’t expect the producer to spend whereas the artistes of the present day were not only bringing their families to the shooting spot but also were making the producers foot the bill for whatever they required. When Gemini took his wife and two daughters to Kashmir for the shooting of the film ‘Then nilavu’, he spent for their stay out of his own pocket.

“I used to take my family to Kodaikanal for every summer and we would stay there in our own house. We would play our traditional games like ‘Pallankuzhi’, ‘Paandi’, ‘Paramapadam’, ‘Dhaayam’ etc. And, I would teach them the latest games including table tennis, badminton and cricket. When we returned to Madras, they would again come under the control of my wife. On returning from the school, my daughters would go for veena or music or sloga classes. I bought many properties when I was earning, I am managing them well too. I taught all my daughters courage and self-confidence. And I had given them good education also,’ Gemini told me.

When I was hesitating to verify the news about Gemini’s marriage with Julie, he understood my problem and came out with the truth. He said openly without mincing words, “Yeah, what you heard is true. Julie is just 35 years, I am 79. We got married last week (2.7.1998) at the Velankanni church at Besant Nagar. Now, I am living with her in a flat in T. Nagar.” And, he introduced his fourth wife Julie taking me to his T. Nagar flat! And, he encouraged me to put whatever questions I wanted to ask, like what all people talked about her and Gemini etc. to Julie! I asked Julie how she fell for Gemini and how she agreed to marry him when the age difference was 45 years. “I was born in Bangalore. I had worked in Arabia and Singapore. I was toying with the idea of making Gemini’s films into CDs and sell them in foreign countries. For this purpose, I met him. And, I fell for him, attracted by his behavior. Also, I realized that he needed someone who could look after him, give him love and affection. When he revealed our plan to his family, they opposed it very strongly. But, Gemini didn’t let me down,” Julie said.