CHENNAI: A new book by S. Theodore Baskaran "Sivaji Ganesan: Profile of an Icon" in the memory of Tamil actor Sivaji Ganesan and part of a series on the legends of Indian cinema was released here Monday.

The book was released by producer A.V.M. Saravanan and received by Sivaji Ganesan's son Ramkumar and film director K. Bhagyaraj.

Noted director Balu Mahendran received titles on Hindi cinema legends Mehboob Khan, Rauf Ahmed, P.C. Barua, Guru Dutt, Shammi Kapoor and Sohrab Modi.

Baskaran said, "The younger generations should know about legends like P.U. Chinnapa, Thygaraja Bhagavatar and the man who produced first Tamil film Nataraja Mudaliayar in 1916."

"I have written about Sivaji Ganesan, his acting and lifestyle so that young people know about him and consider him a role model."

"This book has been written in English because people in other countries are now closely watching Indian cinema. This will help them know about our cinema legends," he added.

In his illustrated book on Sivaji Ganesan, Baskaran traces the life and times of a 10-year-old who ran away from home, walked 60 km from Palakkad to Pollachi to join a street theatre company and grew into one of Tamil cinema's greats.

Ganesan was named Sivaji Ganesan by the Dravidian ideologue Periyar, after his stellar role in "Sivaji Kanda Indhu Rajyam".

Sivaji Ganesan became famous in films following his lead role "Parasakthi" in 1952.

Ganesan was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 1997, and the French government awarded him the title Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts in 1995.