Portion of Sivaji Ganesan’s bungalow to be attached

Chennai: A portion of the iconic 'Anna Illam' of legendary actor Sivaji V C Ganesan in the heart of the city will be attached owing to a monetary dispute between a private company and the late thespian’s grandson R G Dusshyanth and his wife Abirami.

Justice Abdul Quddhose of the Madras High Court passed the orders after the mediation between the two parties failed without reaching any conclusion. Dusshyanth, son of the late actor’s elder son Ramkumar, and Abirami entered into an agreement with Dhanabakkiam Enterprises in December 2017 for producing Jagajaala Killadi, a Tamil movie.

While the company demanded a settlement of Rs 9.39 crore, including the principal amount of Rs 3.74 crore, the family members of the actor agreed to pay a one-time settlement of only Rs 2.75 crore apart from the payments that were already made.

Sivaji Ganesan, one of the legends of Indian cinema, bought the bungalow that stands on a one-and-a-half acre land in South Boag Road in Chennai’s business district of T. Nagar in the 1950s after the runaway success of his film Parasakthi, which heralded the arrival of M Karunanidhi as one of the revolutionary scriptwriters of Tamil cinema.

Named Annai Illam after Sivaji Ganesan’s mother, the actor’s family continues to stay in the palatial house and is considered a temple by many actors who wanted to pursue a career in cinema. Actors like Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan have shared fond memories of interacting with Sivaji Ganesan in the bungalow and baking bread with him.