Few could have imagined that college chemistry tutor Ramaswami Ganesan would one day become the Dev Anand of the Tamil silver screen.

Gemini Ganesan, as he came to be known, rose to be one of the famous trinity of Tamil cinema - the others being Sivaji Ganesan and M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) - in a career that spanned several decades from the 1950s.

And he lived up to the epithet of "Kadal Mannan", or "king of romance", till the very end.

Ganesan taught chemistry at the Madras Christian College and then became a casting assistant at the famous Gemini Studios - a place that not only gave him his nickname but also carved his path to fame.

Born in November 1920, he was 26 when he starred in his first film. It would take him another six years to become a hero.

The actor, who passed away early Tuesday after prolonged illness and who is survived by seven daughters and a son, was to Tamil cinema what Dev Anand has been to Bollywood - an evergreen romantic hero.

While Sivaji Ganesan was noted for his acting skills and known popularly as 'Nadigar Thilagam' and MGR came to be called 'Puratchi Thalaivar', Gemini Ganesan became the debonair face of the industry.

He married Bapuji and had several daughters by his first marriage. Gemini Ganesan was also known for affairs with several Tamil film stars.

Pushpavalli was the mother of Gemini's famous daughter Rekha. For long, he also partnered well-known actress Savitri, known as the Meena Kumari of Tamil and Telugu cinema. He had a son and daughter by her.

Ganesan acted in over 200 films in Tamil and also in Telugu and Malayalam.

It was AVM productions that gave Gemini the hero's role. AVM's "Penn" and "Kanavane Kan Kanda Deivam" gave him star status.

Among his landmark films was "Missiamma", made in Hindi later as "Miss Mary". He acted opposite B. Saroja Devi in "Kalyanapparisu'.

From light-hearted comedy to the tragic hero, Gemini Ganesan played all roles with great élan. He starred as the lead in Kalki's historical novel "Parthivan Kanavu", which was so popular that it was remade a few years ago.

He won one of India's highest civilian honours, the Padma Shri, in 1971 and also bagged prestigious awards like Kalaimamani, MGR Gold Medal and Screen Life Time Achievement award.

In the late 1990s he acted in films like "Mettukudi" and "Thodarum".

Gemini Ganesan played the role of an old Brahmin who wanted to marry the lead in Kamal Haasan's very popular film "Avvai Shanmughi" in the 1990s.

He also featured as an elderly man in the popular TV serial "Krishnadasi" transmitted last year by Sun Network. Despite his old age, he continued to act, playing sensitive roles in several new films.