Veerapandiya Kattabomman
Encyclopedia
Veerapandiya Kattabomman ' onMouseout='HidePop("23155")' href="/topics/Telugu_language">Telugu
: వీరపాండ్య కట్టబోమ్ములు) also known as Kattabomman was an 18th century Palayakarrar ('Polygar') chieftain from Panchalankurichi of Tamil Nadu, India and the 47th King of Panchalankurichi who fought the British. His ancestors migrated to Tamil Nadu from areas in present day Andhra Pradesh during the Vijayanagar
period. Also known as Kattabomma Naicker he was among the earliest to oppose British rule in these regions. He waged a war
with the British six decades before the Indian War of Independence occurred in the Northern parts of India. He was captured and hanged in 1799 CE. His fort was destroyed and his wealth was looted by the British army. Today his native village Panchalankurichi in present day Thoothukudi
district of Tamil Nadu, India is a historically important site.
’ meaning the dumb (speech impaired) Prince.
chasing seven hound
s. Believing that the land possessed the power to instil courage in his people, he built his fort there and named it Panchalankurichi.
On February 2, 1790, Veerapandiyan, 30, became the king of Panchalankurichi as Veera Pandia Kattabomman, supposedly the 47th ruler of the region and the 5th ruler from the Kattabomman clan and a Palya-karrar (or Polygar), of the Madurai Nayak kingdom.
broke away from the empire and established independent kingdoms. The old Pandiya country came to be governed by Naicker rulers in Madurai
, who in turn divided their territories into 72 Palayams. These 72 Palayams were franchised to Palayakarrars (Tamil word) or Polygars or Poligars (anglicised), who had to administer their territories, collect taxes, run the local judiciary, and maintain a battalion
of troops on behalf of the Naicker rulers of Madurai. Their function was a mixture of military governance and civil administration.
of Arcot seized the Madurai throne from the last queen of Madurai in an act of treason. Chanda Sahib was later killed after the Carnatic Wars
and the territory came under the Nawab of Arcot. The Palayakaarars of the old Madurai country refused to recognize the new Muslim rulers driving the Nawab of Arcot to bankruptcy, indulging in lavishes like building palaces even before establishing and sustaining his authority within the region.
Finally the Nawab resorted to borrowing huge sums from the British East India Company
, erupting as a scandal in the British Parliament. Eventually he gave the British the right to collect taxes and levies from the southern region in lieu of the money he had borrowed. Many of the Polygars submitted to the demands of the East India Company, with the exception of Kattabomman and a few others who formed an alliance with the Maruthu Brothers of Sivagangai.
Tamil governors of the Vijayanagara Empire broke away from the empire and established independent kingdoms
of the East India Company. Finally, he met Jackson at Ramalinga Vilasam, the palace of Sethupathi of Ramanathapuram
. The meeting turned violent and ended in a skirmish in which the Deputy Commandant of the Company’s forces, Clarke was slain. Kattabomman and his men fought their way to freedom and safety, but Thanapathi Pillai, Kattabomman’s secretary was taken prisoner.
The Commission of Enquiry that went into the incident fixed the blame on Jackson and relieved him of his post, thinking the Company’s plan to take over the entire country gradually could be marred by Jackson’s fight with Veerapandiya Kattabomman.
The new Collector of Tirunelveli
wrote to Kattabomman calling him for a meeting on 16 March 1799. Kattabomman wrote back citing the extreme drought conditions for the delay in the payment of dues and also demanded that all that was robbed off him at Ramanathapuram be restored to him. The Collector wanted the ruling house of Sethupathis to prevent Kattabomman from aligning himself with the enemies of the Company and decided to attack Kattabomman.
The British also instigated his long time feuding neighbor Ettayapuram Poligar to make provocative wars over Kattabomman on their long pending territorial disputes.
--124.124.59.226 (talk) 09:11, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
Collins was on the attack. When the fort’s southern doors opened, Kattabomman and his forces audaciously attacked the corps stationed at the back of his fort, and slew their commander Lt. Collins.
The British after suffering heavy losses, decided to wait for reinforcements and heavy artillery
from Palayamkottai
. Sensing that his fort could not survive a barrage from heavy cannons, Kattabomman left the fort that night.
A price was set on Kattabomman’s head. Thanapathi Pillai and 16 others were taken prisoners. Thanapathi Pillai was executed and his head perched on a bamboo pole was displayed at Panchalankurichi to demoralise the fighters. Soundra Pandian Nayak, another rebel leader, was brutally done to death by having his head dashed against a village wall.
Kattabomman refused to pay his dues and for a long time refused to meet Jackson Durai, the Collector of the East India Company.
, Virachilai
and finally stayed at Kolarpatti at Rajagopala Naicker’s house where the forces surrounded the house. Kattabomman and his aides fled from there and took refuge in the Thirukalambur forests close to Pudukkottai
. Bannerman ordered the Raja of Pudukkottai to arrest Kattabomman. Accordingly, Kattabomman was captured and on October 16, 1799 the case was taken up (nearly three weeks after his arrest near Pudukkottai).
After a summary trial, Kattabomman was hanged unceremoniously on a Tamarind tree in Kayathar (near Thirunelveli).
Veeran Sundaralingam
was a general of the Poligar Veerapandiya Kattabomman in his fight against the British East India Company.According to a majority of the accepted historical accounts, he was killed in 1799, while fighting for Kattabomman during the First Polygar War. Another view is that he was killed in the Second Polygar War (1800-1) while assisting Kattabomman's younger brother Oomaithurai
.
Some of the other noteworthy persons who were hanged along with Kattabomman were Veeraghechayan Naicker, Dali Ethalappa Naicker and Palayakarrars of Kaadalkudi, Nagalapuram Puthur, Vripachy, Sivagangai, to death by hanging on charges of treason.
Unknown Facts : Some say that Katabomman committed suicide since he did not want to get killed by the British.
and salt
on the orders of the colonial government so that it should never again be inhabited.
, where Kattabomman was executed has remained a place of political pilgrimage.
In his Tinnevelly Gazetteer
of 1917, H. R. Pate notes the presence, in Kayatharu, of "a great pile of stones of all sizes, which represents the accumulated offerings by wayfarers of the past hundred years. Folk
songs recalling the heroism of the Poligar leaders remain alive in Tamil Nadu to this day..."
The popular Tamil slang for a traitor or committing treason
is Ettapa or Ettapan, courtesy the Ettayapuram Polygar whom the British later conferred the title of Raja.
But it is disputed whether Ettapan ever committed a treason at all because Kattabomman was arrested by the King of Pudukottai.
The Campa Cola ground in Chennai belongs/belonged to Ettappan family. Lately, there is an outcry over unfair portrayal of Ettappan in the film Kattabomman in which actor Sivaji Ganesan gave a great performance. It seems that Ma.Po.Si(Ma.Po.Sivanyanam) who wrote the dialogues for the film had some misunderstanding with the Ettappan family.
in lead role portraying the life of Veerapandiya Kattabomman. The Movie was directed by B.R. Panthulu and Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan got a wide international recognition and earned many international awards for his epic performance and this particular film is one of the most remembered in his 45 years of filmdom. The film received ubiquitously positive reviews and adjudged the best film at the Cairo International Film Festival
and Sivaji received the prize for best actor from Col. Nasser
, the then president of Egypt.
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
: వీరపాండ్య కట్టబోమ్ములు) also known as Kattabomman was an 18th century Palayakarrar ('Polygar') chieftain from Panchalankurichi of Tamil Nadu, India and the 47th King of Panchalankurichi who fought the British. His ancestors migrated to Tamil Nadu from areas in present day Andhra Pradesh during the Vijayanagar
Vijayanagara Empire
The Vijayanagara Empire , referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, was an empire based in South Indian in the Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts...
period. Also known as Kattabomma Naicker he was among the earliest to oppose British rule in these regions. He waged a war
Polygar War
Polygar War or Palayakarar Wars refers to the wars fought between the Polygars of former Madurai Kingdom in Tamil Nadu, India and the British East India Company forces between March 1799 to May 1802. The British finally won after carrying out long and difficult protracted jungle campaigns against...
with the British six decades before the Indian War of Independence occurred in the Northern parts of India. He was captured and hanged in 1799 CE. His fort was destroyed and his wealth was looted by the British army. Today his native village Panchalankurichi in present day Thoothukudi
Thoothukudi
Thoothukudi , also known as Tuticorin, is a port city and a Municipal Corporation in Thoothukudi district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thoothukudi is the headquarters of Thoothukudi District....
district of Tamil Nadu, India is a historically important site.
Early life
Veerapandiya Kattabomman was born to Jagaveera Kattabomman and Arumugattammal on January 4, 1760. He had two younger brothers Dalavai Kumarasami and Duraisingam. Veerapandiyan was fondly called ‘Karuthaiah’ (the black prince) and Dalavai Kumarasami was nicknamed ‘Sevathaiah’ (the white prince) and since Duraisingam was a good orator he was nicknamed ‘OomaithuraiOomaithurai
Oomathurai , died 16 November 1801) was an Indian Poligar from Tamil Nadu, who fought against the British East India Company in the Polygar Wars. He was the younger brother of Veerapandiya Kattabomman.-Biography:...
’ meaning the dumb (speech impaired) Prince.
Ancestors
Azhagiya Veerapandiapuram (Ottapidaram of today) was ruled by Jagaveera Pandiyan. He had a minister Bommu, also a brave warrior, who had migrated from Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu during the Vijaynagar times. He was known as Gettibommulu in Telugu after the god Sastha Ayyapan Swamy to describe his strength and fighting qualities which over a period of time, became Kattabomman in Tamil. Kattabomman ascended the throne after Jagaveera Pandiyan, who had no issue, as Adi Kattabomman, the first of the clan of Kattabomman.Panchalankurichi
Legend has it that during a hunting trip into the forests of Salikulam (close to Azhagiya Veerapandiapuram) one of the Kattabommans was amazed to see a hareHare
Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...
chasing seven hound
Hound
A hound is a type of dog that assists hunters by tracking or chasing the animal being hunted. It can be contrasted with the gun dog, which assists hunters by identifying the location of prey, and with the retriever, which recovers shot quarry...
s. Believing that the land possessed the power to instil courage in his people, he built his fort there and named it Panchalankurichi.
On February 2, 1790, Veerapandiyan, 30, became the king of Panchalankurichi as Veera Pandia Kattabomman, supposedly the 47th ruler of the region and the 5th ruler from the Kattabomman clan and a Palya-karrar (or Polygar), of the Madurai Nayak kingdom.
Role of Palayakkarars
Following its collapse in the mid-16th century, the Tamil governors of the Vijayanagara EmpireVijayanagara Empire
The Vijayanagara Empire , referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, was an empire based in South Indian in the Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts...
broke away from the empire and established independent kingdoms. The old Pandiya country came to be governed by Naicker rulers in Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
, who in turn divided their territories into 72 Palayams. These 72 Palayams were franchised to Palayakarrars (Tamil word) or Polygars or Poligars (anglicised), who had to administer their territories, collect taxes, run the local judiciary, and maintain a battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
of troops on behalf of the Naicker rulers of Madurai. Their function was a mixture of military governance and civil administration.
Origins of the Dispute
The Nayak rule in Madurai which controlled the entire West Tamil Nadu after two centuries came to an abrupt end in 1736, when Chanda SahibChanda Sahib
Chanda Sahib was the Nawab of the Carnatic between 1749 and 1752. His birth name is Husayn Dost Khan. He was the son-in-law of the Nawab of Carnatic Dost Ali Khan, under whom he worked as a Dewan. He belonged the Muslim Nait community which had ruled the Carnatic under the Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Khan...
of Arcot seized the Madurai throne from the last queen of Madurai in an act of treason. Chanda Sahib was later killed after the Carnatic Wars
Carnatic Wars
The Carnatic Wars were a series of military conflicts in the middle of the 18th century on the Indian subcontinent...
and the territory came under the Nawab of Arcot. The Palayakaarars of the old Madurai country refused to recognize the new Muslim rulers driving the Nawab of Arcot to bankruptcy, indulging in lavishes like building palaces even before establishing and sustaining his authority within the region.
Finally the Nawab resorted to borrowing huge sums from the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, erupting as a scandal in the British Parliament. Eventually he gave the British the right to collect taxes and levies from the southern region in lieu of the money he had borrowed. Many of the Polygars submitted to the demands of the East India Company, with the exception of Kattabomman and a few others who formed an alliance with the Maruthu Brothers of Sivagangai.
Tamil governors of the Vijayanagara Empire broke away from the empire and established independent kingdoms
Major Events
Kattabomman refused to pay his dues and for a long time refused to meet Jackson Durai, the CollectorCollection agency
A collection agency is a business that pursues payments of debts owed by individuals or businesses. Most collection agencies operate as agents of creditors and collect debts for a fee or percentage of the total amount owed....
of the East India Company. Finally, he met Jackson at Ramalinga Vilasam, the palace of Sethupathi of Ramanathapuram
Ramanathapuram
Ramanathapuram , also known as Ramnad, is a city and a municipality in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district.-Tourism:...
. The meeting turned violent and ended in a skirmish in which the Deputy Commandant of the Company’s forces, Clarke was slain. Kattabomman and his men fought their way to freedom and safety, but Thanapathi Pillai, Kattabomman’s secretary was taken prisoner.
The Commission of Enquiry that went into the incident fixed the blame on Jackson and relieved him of his post, thinking the Company’s plan to take over the entire country gradually could be marred by Jackson’s fight with Veerapandiya Kattabomman.
The new Collector of Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli , also known as Nellai , and historically as Tinnevelly, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli District and the sixth biggest city in Tamil Nadu...
wrote to Kattabomman calling him for a meeting on 16 March 1799. Kattabomman wrote back citing the extreme drought conditions for the delay in the payment of dues and also demanded that all that was robbed off him at Ramanathapuram be restored to him. The Collector wanted the ruling house of Sethupathis to prevent Kattabomman from aligning himself with the enemies of the Company and decided to attack Kattabomman.
The British also instigated his long time feuding neighbor Ettayapuram Poligar to make provocative wars over Kattabomman on their long pending territorial disputes.
--124.124.59.226 (talk) 09:11, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
War against English
Kattabomman refused to meet the Collector and a fight broke out. Under Major Bannerman, the army stood at all the four entrances of Panchalankurichi’s fort. At the southern end, LieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Collins was on the attack. When the fort’s southern doors opened, Kattabomman and his forces audaciously attacked the corps stationed at the back of his fort, and slew their commander Lt. Collins.
The British after suffering heavy losses, decided to wait for reinforcements and heavy artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
from Palayamkottai
Palayamkottai
Palayamkottai , known as the "Oxford of South India", is a town in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. It is part of the Tirunelveli city corporation. It is on the eastern bank of the Thamirabarani river, while its twin city Tirunelveli is on the western bank.-Etymology:The archaic word Palayam...
. Sensing that his fort could not survive a barrage from heavy cannons, Kattabomman left the fort that night.
A price was set on Kattabomman’s head. Thanapathi Pillai and 16 others were taken prisoners. Thanapathi Pillai was executed and his head perched on a bamboo pole was displayed at Panchalankurichi to demoralise the fighters. Soundra Pandian Nayak, another rebel leader, was brutally done to death by having his head dashed against a village wall.
Kattabomman refused to pay his dues and for a long time refused to meet Jackson Durai, the Collector of the East India Company.
Capture and Sentence
Veerapandiya Kattabomman hid in so many places including ThirumayamThirumayam
Thirumayam is a place of historical importance located about 20 km south of the town of Pudukkottai in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu...
, Virachilai
Virachilai
Virachilai is a village in the Pudukkottai district in Tamil Nadu, India. It lies 22 km away from Pudukkottai, on the road in between Pudukottai and Ponnamaravathi...
and finally stayed at Kolarpatti at Rajagopala Naicker’s house where the forces surrounded the house. Kattabomman and his aides fled from there and took refuge in the Thirukalambur forests close to Pudukkottai
Pudukkottai
Pudukkottai is a town and a municipality in Pudukkottai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Pudukkottai District was carved out of Tiruchirappalli and Thanjavur districts in January 1974.It is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai District....
. Bannerman ordered the Raja of Pudukkottai to arrest Kattabomman. Accordingly, Kattabomman was captured and on October 16, 1799 the case was taken up (nearly three weeks after his arrest near Pudukkottai).
After a summary trial, Kattabomman was hanged unceremoniously on a Tamarind tree in Kayathar (near Thirunelveli).
Veeran Sundaralingam
Veeran Sundaralingam
Sundaralinga Kudumbanar , also known as "Veeran" Sundaralingam , was an 18th century CE general from Tamil Nadu, India. He was born in Gavarnagiri village in Tuticorin district. He was a general of the Poligar Veerapandiya Kattabomman in his fight against the British East India Company. He belonged...
was a general of the Poligar Veerapandiya Kattabomman in his fight against the British East India Company.According to a majority of the accepted historical accounts, he was killed in 1799, while fighting for Kattabomman during the First Polygar War. Another view is that he was killed in the Second Polygar War (1800-1) while assisting Kattabomman's younger brother Oomaithurai
Oomaithurai
Oomathurai , died 16 November 1801) was an Indian Poligar from Tamil Nadu, who fought against the British East India Company in the Polygar Wars. He was the younger brother of Veerapandiya Kattabomman.-Biography:...
.
Some of the other noteworthy persons who were hanged along with Kattabomman were Veeraghechayan Naicker, Dali Ethalappa Naicker and Palayakarrars of Kaadalkudi, Nagalapuram Puthur, Vripachy, Sivagangai, to death by hanging on charges of treason.
Unknown Facts : Some say that Katabomman committed suicide since he did not want to get killed by the British.
Aftermath
The Fort of Panchalankurichi was razed to the ground and all of Kattabomman’s wealth was looted by the English soldiers. Few years later, after the second Polygar war, the site of the captured fort was ploughed up and sowed with castor oilCastor oil
Castor oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the castor bean . Castor oil is a colorless to very pale yellow liquid with mild or no odor or taste. Its boiling point is and its density is 961 kg/m3...
and salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
on the orders of the colonial government so that it should never again be inhabited.
Legend and folklore
In subsequent years, a good deal of legend and folklore developed around Kattabomman and the Marudu Brothers. KayatharuKayatharu
Kayatharu is a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is situated along National Highway 7 between Tirunelveli and Kovilpatti....
, where Kattabomman was executed has remained a place of political pilgrimage.
In his Tinnevelly Gazetteer
Gazetteer
A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary or directory, an important reference for information about places and place names , used in conjunction with a map or a full atlas. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup of a country, region, or continent as well as the social...
of 1917, H. R. Pate notes the presence, in Kayatharu, of "a great pile of stones of all sizes, which represents the accumulated offerings by wayfarers of the past hundred years. Folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
songs recalling the heroism of the Poligar leaders remain alive in Tamil Nadu to this day..."
The popular Tamil slang for a traitor or committing treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
is Ettapa or Ettapan, courtesy the Ettayapuram Polygar whom the British later conferred the title of Raja.
But it is disputed whether Ettapan ever committed a treason at all because Kattabomman was arrested by the King of Pudukottai.
The Campa Cola ground in Chennai belongs/belonged to Ettappan family. Lately, there is an outcry over unfair portrayal of Ettappan in the film Kattabomman in which actor Sivaji Ganesan gave a great performance. It seems that Ma.Po.Si(Ma.Po.Sivanyanam) who wrote the dialogues for the film had some misunderstanding with the Ettappan family.
Honor and Monuments
Kattabomman's story is celebrated in many legends and epic poetry in Tamil. Kattabomman is today recognised by the government as one of the earliest independence fighters opposing the British.- In 1974, the Government of Tamil NaduGovernment of Tamil NaduThe Government of Tamil Nadu, headquartered at Chennai is the governing authority for the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at the Fort St. George...
constructed a new Memorial fort. The Memorial Hall has beautiful paintings on the walls depicting the heroic deeds of the saga which gives a good idea about the history of the period. A cemetery of British soldiers are also seen near the fort. - The remnants of the old fort are protected by the Archaeological Survey of IndiaArchaeological Survey of IndiaThe Archaeological Survey of India is a department of the Government of India, attached to the Ministry of Culture . The ASI is responsible for archaeological studies and the preservation of archaeological heritage of the country in accordance with the various acts of the Indian Parliament...
. - At Kayathar, near Tirunelveli on the present day NH7, the place where he was hanged, there is another memorial for Kattabomman.
- To commemorate the bicentenaryAnniversaryAn anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...
on 16 October 1799 of Kattabomman’s hanging, the Government of IndiaGovernment of IndiaThe Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
brought out a postal stamp in his honour. - India's premier communication nerve centre of the Indian NavyIndian NavyThe Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff , usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the Navy...
, at Vijayanarayanam, about 40 km from here, is named as INS Kattabomman. - Till 1997, the state transport buses of Tirunelveli District was named Kattabomman Transport Corporation.
- Veerapandia Kattabomman Panpattu Kazhagam (Veerapandia Kattabomman Cultural association) is an organisation named in his honour.
- The district administration celebrates `Veerapandia Kattabomman festival' at Panchalankurichi on his anniversaries.
Movie
Much of the modern currency of the legend comes from the 1959 motion picture starring Chevalier Sivaji GanesanSivaji Ganesan
Viluppuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan Manrayar , commonly known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan , was an Indian stage and film actor active during the latter half of the 20th century. He is one of the most respected film actors in India. He is well known for his versatility and acting skills with...
in lead role portraying the life of Veerapandiya Kattabomman. The Movie was directed by B.R. Panthulu and Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan got a wide international recognition and earned many international awards for his epic performance and this particular film is one of the most remembered in his 45 years of filmdom. The film received ubiquitously positive reviews and adjudged the best film at the Cairo International Film Festival
Cairo International Film Festival
The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Cairo, Egypt. It was established in 1976 and was the first international film festival held in the Arab world...
and Sivaji received the prize for best actor from Col. Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...
, the then president of Egypt.
See also
- Puli ThevarPuli ThevarPuli Thevar was a poligar who ruled Nerkattumseval situated in the Sankarankoil taluk of Tamil Nadu. Puli Thevar who belongs to the warrior Maravar community was one of the earliest Indian Kings to have fought and defeated the British in India.-History:He is one of the earliest opponents of the...
- Dheeran ChinnamalaiDheeran ChinnamalaiDheeran Chinnamalai was a Kongu chieftain and Palayakkarar from Tamil Nadu who rose up in revolt against the British East India Company in the Kongu Nadu, Southern India...
- Maveeran Periya MaruthuMaruthu PandiyarThe Marudhu Pandiyar brothers ruled Sivagangai, Tamil Nadu towards the end of the 18th century...
- Maveeran Chinna MaruthuMaruthu PandiyarThe Marudhu Pandiyar brothers ruled Sivagangai, Tamil Nadu towards the end of the 18th century...
- Polygar WarPolygar WarPolygar War or Palayakarar Wars refers to the wars fought between the Polygars of former Madurai Kingdom in Tamil Nadu, India and the British East India Company forces between March 1799 to May 1802. The British finally won after carrying out long and difficult protracted jungle campaigns against...
- Thalapathy Veeran SundaralingamVeeran SundaralingamSundaralinga Kudumbanar , also known as "Veeran" Sundaralingam , was an 18th century CE general from Tamil Nadu, India. He was born in Gavarnagiri village in Tuticorin district. He was a general of the Poligar Veerapandiya Kattabomman in his fight against the British East India Company. He belonged...
- OomaithuraiOomaithuraiOomathurai , died 16 November 1801) was an Indian Poligar from Tamil Nadu, who fought against the British East India Company in the Polygar Wars. He was the younger brother of Veerapandiya Kattabomman.-Biography:...
- Rani Velu NachiarRani Velu NachiarRani Velu Nachiyar was an 18th century Indian Queen from Sivaganga. Rani Velu Nachiyar is the first Queen of Tamil Origin to fight against the British in India. -Her life:...