Reshmi AR

Savitri and Gemini Ganesan—In some ways they were an intriguing couple. It's not hard to guess why. With two marriages behind him, Gemini Ganesan was not the right choice for a beautiful and talented actress at the pinnacle of her career. Savitri was a struggling actress when she first met Gemini Ganesan who was bewitched by her smile. As it turned out, it was not until the making of Tamil flick Manam Pola Mangalyam that the duo came together. Sadly, no print of this film survives for succeeding generations to gain an insight into their on-screen chemistry.

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Incidentally, they were also fated to fall in love while this film was being shot. Gemini Ganesan was a reigning star in Tamil cinema riding the success of his movies.

After being in a relationship for some time, Savitri got secretly married to Ganesan. However, the couple decided to keep it a secret till Savitri broke it on a popular soap Advertisement of the period signing it in the name of Savitri Ganesan. There had been speculation about their marriage for sometime and the Ad only confirmed the buzz surrounding their affair.

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However, her relationship with Gemini Ganesan was far from a happy one. They often had serious differences which became irreconcilable due to his alleged philandering ways. Savitri snapped all ties with him but the successful actress had to encounter bitter failure as a producer of some films. She was also a poor manager of her finances and eventually hit the bottle hard. Inevitably, she slipped into alcoholism and died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1981.

The Savitri-Gemini Ganesan love story is that of an odd couple besotted with each other and driven apart by temperamental compulsions.