Veteran Tamil actor Sivakumar's painting expo opens

The expo features Sivakumar's 100 paintings drawn from 1958 to 1965 and include pencil and crayon sketches, water colour and oil paintings, besides portraits of eminent personalities and many important locations across India.

Artist and former principal of Government College of Arts and Crafts here, Alphonso Das inaugurated the expo in the presence of Sivakumar, his actor son Karthi and a host of others, including renowned artist Maniam Selven. 

In a press release, Sivakumar's publicist said the exhibition has been organised by Sivakumar's actor sons Suriya and Karthi as part of the celebrations of their father's 75th birthday on October 27. 

Coinciding with the birthday of Sivakumar, a Coffee Table book comprising his 140 paintings will be released, the release said. 

Born Palani Samy, Sivakumar (screen name) started his life as an artist devoted to painting and then moved on to the film industry. 

He debuted as an actor in 1965 with the film Kaakkum Karangal. He had acted in 192 films and more than 170 out of them were as lead hero. 

The veteran actor is also well known for his oratory in Tamil and his speeches on Ramayana and Mahabharata are quite popular.

• Sivakumar