Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa (1948-2016) passed away today following a cardiac arrest in Chennai’s Apollo Hospital, where she was admitted since September 22 this year. Apollo Hospital announced about her demise at 11.30 PM on Monday, December 5.
‘Amma’ – as Jayalalithaa was popularly known in the state she ruled for six terms – was 68. Jayalalithaa’s previous stints as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister were: 1991-1996, in 2001, 2002-2006 and 2011-2014. She was the second female Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after Janaki Ramachandran.
After a fake news about her death made rounds earlier in the day, Apollo Hospital announced about her demise to the public at 11.30 PM. She was 68 years old.
Jayalalithaa, the mass leader who craved to become a lawyer
Dr. J Jayalalithaa was born on February 24, 1948, in Mysore. She began schooling at Bishop Cotton Girls High School in Bangalore and later attended the Presentation Convent at Church Park, Chennai, when her mother began a career as a Tamil film actress. The family moved to Chennai after Jayalalithaa‘s father died when she was just two and the family fell into poverty. Worse days were to come when J Jayalalithaa‘s older brother Jayakumar died.
J Jayalalithaa was a good scholar and is said to have wanted to become a lawyer and be rich. Mother Celine, the principal at her school is the third person J Jayalalithaa has acknowledged to having played a big role in shaping her.
Jayalalithaa wouldn’t be a lawyer, but she would be rich – a successful film career lay ahead. Chinnada Gombe, her first film (in Kannada) was a major hit. She also acted in an English film titled Epistle that was released in 1961. The film was produced by Shankar Giri, son of former President of India Dr V V Giri. It was a James Bond-style film, Gudachari 116, which catapulted her to fame. Her first Telugu film was Manushulu Mamathalu while her Tamil debut was with the film Vennira Aadai. She was revolutionary in an industry where heroines had hitherto been saree-clad and demure. Jayalalithaa is said to have been the first to wear skirts on screen.
She also acted in a few Bollywood films, the most remembered among them “Izzat” where she was the heroine for Dharmendra, who would later also join politics as a BJP MP.
In life and on celluloid she would really be Tamil Superstar M G Ramachandran’s heroine; they acted in 28 films together, including Kavalkaran, Adimai Pen, Engal Thangam, Kudiyiruntha Koil, Ragasiya Police 115 and Nam Naadu. Some of her popular movies are Vennira Aadai, Aayirathil Oruvan, Kavalkaran, Pudhiya Boomi, Iru Deivangal, Nadhiyai Thedi Vandha Kadal.
Jayalalithaa‘s last film was Nadhiyai Thedi Vandha Kadal in 1980. In her tempestuous relationship with MGR, there were many crests and troughs. They fell out and then, in the early 1980s came together as the most important phase of Jayalalithaa’s life began. In 1982, at the age of 34, she joined the AIADMK. There was no struggle or grind – she went straight to the top echelons of the party, became the propaganda secretary much to chagrin of many seasoned partymen and was soon nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
She learnt her politics from a man known to have been one of Tamil Nadu’s shrewdest politicos. But she rebelled too, obviously very much her own woman. Jayalalithaa stayed single, she never married.
MGR died in 1987, in harness as Chief Minister. The next year the AIADMK split with one faction supporting MGR‘s widow Janaki and the other supporting Jayalalithaa, who staked claim to MGR‘s political legacy. She remained a Rajya Sabha MP till she was elected to the Tamil Nadu Assembly in 1989 and became Leader of the Opposition. Around the same time, she charged a DMK leader, Durai Murugan, with assault. She said he had tried to pull her sari when she obstructed then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi while he was presenting the 1990 state budget.
In 1991, J Jayalalithaa became Chief Minister for the first time, heading a coalition government that included the Congress. She lost the 1996 Tamil Nadu elections and the DMK government that succeeded her, filed cases of corruption against her that are still pending in court. In 1997, when the DMK government confiscated all her jewellery during investigation into cases relating to owning disproportionate assets, Jayalalithaa swore that she would not wear jewellery again.
For 14 years a woman known to have fondly owned a gold waist belt studded with diamonds, more than 10,000 saris and 750 pairs of shoes, among many other things, wore not a piece of jewellery. She only did last year after her massive electoral comeback. Then too because, she said, party workers asked her to, some even threatening to kill themselves if she didn’t acquiesce.
The Tamil Nadu CM was proficient in many languages – she spoke English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi fluently. MGR was said to have sent her to the Rajya Sabha as she spoke English so well. An accomplished dancer, Jayalalithaa was trained in classical dance forms like Bharatnatyam, Mohini Attam, Kathak and Manipuri and performed all over India. She also started learning Carnatic music at the age of 4 and sang several songs in her own films.
In 1972, she was honoured by the Tamil Nadu government with the award Kalaimamani. These awards are given by the Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Manram (literature, music and theatre) for excellence in the field of art and literature.
Jayalalithaa was a voracious reader and read practically everything. Her favourite authors are Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and, among others, Oscar Wilde, Bernard Shaw, Sidney Sheldon, Danielle Steel, Pearl S Buck and James Hadley Chase.
Even as an actress, she would always carry books with her to the studio, and would sit quietly by herself in a corner and read between shots. She had a large private library with a huge collection of books.
