All in the family!

With a never-ending time crunch and mostly nuclear families we hardly find time to spend with our nearest of kin. We rarely devote time to thank our family members who stand by us through thick and thin. Let us at least from this year on save some time to be with our near ones and spend quality time in their midst.

We celebrate Mother’s day, Women’s Day, and Valentines Day with all enthusiasm, but we never seem to have paid much heed to the International Day of Families. The United Nations celebrates its international Day of Families every year in May. This year it will be celebrated on May 15.

On this day dedicated to families we bring to you some of the most popular families in Tamil cinema who have dedicated their time and energy to Kollywood and have stood by their near ones through thick and thin.

The first family in Kollywood headed by Superstar Rajinikanth has been in the limelight most of the time. The superstar has infallible support from his better half Latha Rajinikanth who has been a pillar of strength for the superstar through all times. The superstar’s two daughters Aishwariya and Soundariya, the former who is married to actor Dhanush is a Kalaimamani award winner from the Tamil Nadu Government. Soundariya is married to Ashwin, an industrialist, and she heads the Ocher Picture Productions. This high-profile family has stood together through good times and bad and has been a model for many families in and outside the industry.

The Sivakumars’ can be a standing example for the how a happy, healthy family should be. Siva Kumar who is a very principled man can be proud that he is heading a very successful family. With both his sons Saravanan Suriya Sivakumar and Karthik Kumar doing wonderfully in Tamil, the actor has always been very practical and down to earth. He has a daughter Brindha who is married and settled. The lady behind this successful family is Lakshmi Sivakumar who, though limelight-shy, has provided a loving hearth. Suriya is happily married to Jyothika and is touted to become the next big name in the Tamil industry.

Late actor ‘Chevalier’ Sivaji Ganesan’s sons Ram Kumar Ganesan and Prabhbu Ganesan have contributed a lot to the film industry. After leading the Tamil cinema industry from the front in the early 80s and early 90s, Prabhu has joined his elder bro Ram Kumar and began producing films. Now the third generation from the veteran actor’s family, his grandson Sivaji too, has acted in a film titled ‘Singakutty’ which released in 2008.

Editor Mohan’s family too has had a good spell in Tamil industry. Though Mohan has contributed to the industry from behind the camera his son ‘Jayam’ Ravi has had a good spell as a hero. Ravi’s latest offing ‘Engeyum Kadhal’ is having a decent run at the box-office. Ravi’s elder brother Raja too has contributed good films to the industry wielding the megaphone. He is at the moment busy with the final shooting of Vijay

starrer ‘Velayudham.’ Ravi is married to Aarthi and the couple has a loving son.

Director Kasthoori Raja is well known for his famous sons more than his films these days. While Selvaraghavan, his first son has received rave reviews from critics for his films, Dhanush has garnered a firm place as a hero in the hearts of the Tamil audience. While Selvaraghavan thinks out of the box, Dhanush dares to do different and challenging roles.

Next in the line is Jeeva. The actor is toasting in the thumping victory of his latest release ‘Ko.’ His producer dad R.B. Choudhary too is a well-known name in the South Indian film industry. Jeeva’s brother ‘Jithan’ Ramesh is an actor waiting for the right break in Kollywood.

In the musical field too, there are some well-known families who have contributed immensely to the music. The most noted being the family of ‘Isaignani’ Ilayaraja who undoubtedly has mesmerized the listeners with his enthralling tunes. Now his next generation, son Karthick Raja, Yuvan Shankar Raja and Bavatharani all of who are composers as well as singers have contributed their bit. The most notable being Yuvan, who seems to be a favorite among the young.

Gangai Amaran who is a well-known singer is Ilayaraja’s brother. His son Venkat Prabhu is a promising director in Tamil cinema. Venkat’s sibling Premji is an actor noted for his amusing performance.

We should also mention the ‘Gana gandharvan’ K.J. Yesudas, who has fans across the globe for his mesmerizing voice. His son Vijay Yesudas too is a singer in the South Indian films who sure makes his father proud.

There are also other important father-son bonds which have done quite well in Tamil Nadu like S.A. Chandrasekar and Vijay, T Ragendran and Silambarasan, Bharathiraja and Manoj, SP Balasubramanium and son SPB Charan, Thyiagarajan and Prashanth, couples Sarath Kumar and Radhika, Ajith-Shalini, director Sundhar C. and Kushboo, Vijayakumar and Manjula. There are also many yesteryear couples who have contributed tremendously to Tamil cinema.