Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (‍) (17 January 1917 – 24 December 1987), popularly known by his initials , was an India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n film actor, director

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

, producer

Film producer

A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...

 and politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

.

In his youth, MGR and his elder brother, M. G. Chakrapani became members of a drama troupe to support their family. Influenced by Gandhian ideals, MGR joined the Indian National Congress

Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

. After a few years of acting in plays, he made his film debut in the 1936 film Sathi Leelavathi

Sathi Leelavathi (1936 film)

Sathi Leelavathi is a 1936 Tamil film directed by Ellis R. Dungan. This was the first film for M. G. Ramachandran and for Dungan as director. This was one of the first Tamil films to become the subject of court case involving copyright violations....

 in a supporting role.